Love's Bloodbath
by Aoi Seishin
Summary: Before they started falling apart, before they couldn't hold that inevitable feeling, they were a family. As their friendship got closer than anyone, love blooms. A feeling so overwhelming, they even tried to get rid of anyone for romance. The story shows twisted love chains and all of them risk everything for an unrequited love. Acute-inspired fanfic. Please review! FIRST FANFIC
1. Fragment

**Osu minna-san, this is my first fan-fiction so pleaseee... be easy with me. There will be a lot lot lot of time skips and some unnecessary events so stay with me for a while. Read and review~ I want to improve my skill~ (^,...,^)**

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Disclaimer

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**This is just a fan-fiction. Everything, excluding the plot and original characters, in the story belongs to their respective owners. Please enjoy the story with this disclaimer in mind.**

This fan-fiction is **inspired** by the song "**Acute**", sung by **Hatsune Miku** (**Saki Fujita**), **Kaito Shion** (**Naoto Fuuga**), and **Megurine Luka** (**Yuu Asukawa**), lyrics and music by **KuroUsap**.

Kaito: "E-Etoo… Ao-tan doesn't own VOCALOID…" (Sniffs)  
Luka: "Now, now Kaito… Here's an ice cream."  
Kaito: "Arigatou, Luka…"  
Miku: "We VOCALOIDs and UTAUs belong to their respective creators."  
Meiko: "Everything except the story and Kiyoteru Harumi-chan isn't hers."  
Len: "My personality here is kind of twisted…"  
Rin: "Really? I think it's pretty much the same as the original."  
Gakupo: (Nods)  
Gumi: "Your character here Gaku is twisted too so stop nodding."  
Gakupo: "EH!?"  
Ao: "P-Putting that aside… Arigatou gozaimasu to **Ai-chi** and **Mi-tan**! They helped me a lot."  
All: "Enjoy the story everyone!"

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Prologue

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"Hear our story… The story… That made our whole lives to… shatter."

"Don't ever hurt her."  
"I… I didn't steal him!"  
"They belong together! Can't you see that!? Just leave them alone!"  
"It's hard to breathe when I'm with you…"  
"I-I hope… I hope in the next life… We'd be friends again…"  
"A heart is fragile like a glass. Once it breaks, it's almost impossible to fix it again."  
"Choose… Which do you love more?"  
"D-Don't… Leave me…"  
"We'll be together for eternity… You're never going to be alone… I'll follow you everywhere, even to death."  
"I… Love you."

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Chapter One: Fragment

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Tsumetai heya wo yure ugoku kanjou  
(As our feelings swing in this cold room)  
Surudoku ketsu eguru nureta hokosaki  
(My sharply gouging spearhead becomes soaked)  
Hanabi no youni moeaga ru shunkan  
(In the brief moment when we flare up like fireworks)  
Tagai wo koga shi yakeato wo name au yasashiku...  
(We scorch each other, and then lick each other's burns gently…)

* * *

Soft words, yet stabs to their minds, and pierces their hearts. A relationship that cannot be separated by anyone, even death lacks the ability to do so. They shared everything, happiness, despair, sorrow, anger, and love. An everlasting resolve to love someone. But everything faded away when they shared the same and inevitable fate.

Innocence filled the park years ago. Hatsune Miku, a small teal-haired girl with matching eyes broke the silence with her music. Her twin-tails flew against the strong breeze that carried leaves in its path. Another girl, Megurine Luka, is with her, her eyes tinted with the color blue-green, her glorious pink hair sophisticatedly blending with her character. She applauded her hands benignly yet in a slightly shrill way with a blue-haired boy, Kaito Shion, that possessed cerulean eyes, and a young teenager's body build in spite of his young age, to the little girl's singing.

"Miku-chan that was great!" was Luka's remark to Miku's performance. Moving past her appreciative words, Luka asked the blue-haired boy for his opinion, "What did you think Kaito?" at that moment, several shades of red took place in his face. He stuttered, "E-Eh!? E-Err… Y-You were really good…"

Everything began to start. He was enslaved by her kind personality, looks, and her heavenly voice. Years passed like it was just a minute, ticking heard every second.

They met two blondes, Kagamine Rin, and Kagamine Len. They looked pretty much the same, both had blonde hair, Len had a short ponytail and Rin were short either and used a white ribbon and hair clips as a design to it. Rin's eyes had the color of blue while Len had green. The two blondes were childhood friends but they were never related by blood, but some calls them the 'Kagamine Twins'. The three of them also met one brunette, Sakine Meiko. Her supportive and 'big-sisterly' personality would make anyone her friend. Soon as days and weeks passed, they became part of Miku, Luka, and Kaito's circle.

The six then graduated from grade-school, and got into a middle school, together. They met a purple-haired man, Gakupo Kamui, his hair was tied by a lace that has red and black stripes. He was tallest among them and has the same age with everyone. His flirtatious and 'player' personality made the six to avoid him at first, but before long became friends with him after they saw a protective and unexpected profile of his. Another is Megpoid Gumi, a green-haired girl that's always with Gakupo, just like Rin's always with Len. Her hair could only reach the back of her neck, not reaching the shoulder but the front had two long ones that can go down to her collarbone. The last one was SF-A2 Miki, she has a hair of pure scarlet and her vivid, gossipy, and out-going personality, sort of became the reason to become a part of their little group either. She never revealed the meaning of her last name, SF-A2, to the eight of them.

Years had passed and they were on their senior year of middle school. Their graduation was fast approaching on them either. Within that time, different friendships were formed. What was unknown to them was, romance will soon submerge and both jealousy and hate will rise together with that feeling.

Miku, Luka, and Kaito were best friends from the start, but Luka and Miku were much closer. Meiko became a lot closer to Kaito, and had become his best friend. She became the friend wherein he could share and trust everything unto. Gumi and Miki became each other's best friends, and just like the old days, they would gossip. Miki had strongly influenced the innocent Gumi, who in the present is now a gossiper, like Miki. Despite Miki's influence, her sweet and kind personalities remained. Gumi also influenced Miki, some of her angelic, helpful, and supportive personality, got shared into Miki.

Their 'family' got really close, they would support each other in any problem, protect when one is hurt. The boundaries of a 'friend' is unknowingly being crossed, little by little, one step taken at a time. The teal-haired female developed feelings for a certain someone. 'Someone' that's part of their family. On their graduation's celebration, Miku shared a secret to her pink-haired friend.

Meiko held a sake bottle in her hand while declaring, "We're high school students now! Kanpai!" she was about to gulp the said liquor down to her throat, when Kaito suddenly pulled it away from her.

Kaito barked at her, "Meiko! We're minors! Don't drink alcohol!"

Meiko retorted back, "Eh? Don't be such a spoilsport, Bakaito!" The tick mark on him grew larger, especially on the nickname 'Bakaito' Meiko gave to him years ago. "K-Kaito! KAITO! KAITO! Not Bakaito! Bakameiko!" he snapped at her. The brunette scoffed at him, "Hahaha! That doesn't fit!"

"Whatever, celebrations like this can only happen to us once in a while… Let loose for a little and exchange your ridiculously large ice cream for this sake!" yelled back Meiko. After a long pause and gaze to the brunette, Kaito finally gave his response, "… … … … … NO," making her to click her tongue in failure.

"Luka!" Miku whispered to her pink-haired friend while a tinge of pink was set on her face, "I-I'm confessing to him today…" This caused Luka to accidentally say, "That's great!" out loud.

"Luka!" Miku tried to stop her outburst, but failed, resulting for Gakupo's curiosity to expand, "What is?"

Both of them nervously laughed, "N-Nothing," Luka replied while waving her hands indicating 'nothing'. But the purple-haired man didn't drop the subject, he only did after seconds of stares at the two, "… Whatever…"

An apology was offered to Miku, only to get a sigh from her and her resume to her earlier sentence, "That's fine, anyway, do you think he'll accept it?"

Luka replied back, trying to lift the teal-haired girl's self-confidence, "Sure he will!"

With this, a smile appeared at Miku's face, "I hope you're right… Thank you, Luka!" her gratitude made Luka to smile back at her.

'_I can't… I… I shouldn't…_' Luka thought, an agonizing spirit behind her smile.

Her every word felt like daggers to her, and even though it was being aimlessly thrown, she had caught every bit of it. She secretly had feelings for the same guy either, before Miku shared that secret with her. She didn't want to betray Miku, her closest friend she ever had throughout her life. The pink-haired female kept her feelings to herself, although every time her friend talked about 'their' crush, she wept whenever her figure was out of Miku's sight. She held back every sniffle whenever they're talking through the phone, but tears were slowly dropping unto the device.

Their celebration came to an end and they all went to their previous middle school's rooftop, to gaze at the setting sun of a slight crimson, as darkness, slowly peered into the sky. They felt the familiar dry wind shuffle against their faces, the same warm color radiated and the calming silence that occupied the place. Moments passed, they said their farewells, where their family was completed, and left the building, except for two people.

Before he could step his foot towards the exit, Miku called out to him, "U-Uhm… W-Wait…" The said male stopped, "Miku?" as he turned around to face the female.

"I just want to say something before we leave… So please, wait… Kaito."

The following words set everything. Fragments of fate were slowly falling right into place. The dreadful puzzle is being completed as every second of their time passed.

"S-So… W-Will you go out with me?" Miku asked with both of their faces beet.

"I… I didn't expect that…" His cerulean blue eyes kept blinking, thinking that the situation is too good to be true. "T-This is real right!?"

Miku slightly flinched in his response, "Y-Yes! Wait. What do you mean by that!? Are you teasing me?"

"N-No!" Kaito waved his hands rapidly, "Actually, I've felt the same way for years…"

"T-Then… That's a yes…?" Miku asked. He nodded, allowing a little embarrassment to fly away from them.

Smiles were worn by two faces and joy filled their hearts. Yet, he felt that something isn't right. Deleting that from his mind, he was with Miku now. Miku wished Luka to would've heard everything, but she had 'matters' to deal with so she went ahead of them. Lies aside, she couldn't bear to watch the love of her life to be someone else's. The pink-haired girl would've stopped it, but it was her best friend, her family.

The happy and the same time, sorrowful day passed. Everyone already knows about the new couple because of the rumors spreading like wildfire. Only a few weeks are left before they attend their new school as high school students, the rest of them valued every time they had. The couple goes on dates every other weekend, and the best friends would always, if not meet each other, talk on the phone.

Their last meeting as middle school students was held at a café nearby their previous school. The nine of them gave each other a wonderful time, telling their daily lives to one another. The waitress dressed as a maid then approaches them and asks them for their orders.

Minutes passed, they were eating their food. Kaito ate nothing but three ice cream specials, Luka ordered the expensive and luxurious tuna, Meiko was asleep because of a hangover, Miki had the shortcake with several strawberries on top it, Rin and Len ate together a fruit sundae, the female blonde immediately grabbed her fork and stuck it into the slice of orange, Len did the same but grabbed for the banana slices. Miku, Gakupo, and Gumi enjoyed a vegetable salad which is mainly composed of carrots, spring onions… and eggplants. Some of the other customers gave them various looks, ordering something that… let's just say, different.

As they ate, 'some' gave 'some' glares filled with hate and jealousy. 'Some' had the eyes of a hurt profile. Dawn broke and they all decided to go home. Kaito held the door for everyone, in which he is thanked for later. Gakupo decided to help Meiko walk back home since she was still unconscious. She wakes up from time to time, but all she does during those few minutes is to throw up. Everyone passed through the door, Kaito grasped a sly whisper to him in a fast motion.

"Don't ever hurt her."

Alarmed by the whisper that comprised a masculine tone and nuance of agitation, Kaito retorted to the unknown person, "Len, Gaku, did you say something?"

The blonde merely shook his head in rejection as Gakupo said, "N-No, I'm too busy helping Me– Ack!" He almost collapsed when the brunette's arm suspended over his nape pulled him down, whilst she holding her mouth with her hand, trying to stop herself from throwing up again.

"You're too troublesome Meiko!" he snapped at her, only to feel the heavy weight once more when she fell unconscious.

The nine then left the café and went to their homes. Soon it became their first day as high school students. Shortly after the morning assembly, all of them got into the same class, as average students, well, not for long though.

After two years, they became seniors. They formed the music club, since the previous members graduated last year, and entitled their band as 'Vocaloid'. Instruments were heard in the room every weekday and the envious looks slowly depleted. Months passed and the sun had risen on the day of the cultural festival. They were chosen to play for the closing event, while their class decided to do a haunted house. Gumi and Miki helped with everyone's makeup, so whoever went inside their attraction would scream in terror, literally.

They gave Miku a vampire's makeup, eyes placed with blood-red lenses, sharp fangs on the front. Her costume is a long black and red trench coat with its collar raised and folded half-way. Luka chose to be a ghost, her disguise made her skin whiter than snow and eye bags are placed below her eyes. She wore a white yukata and a black wig to cover her pink-colored hair. Kaito and Meiko became zombies, although they didn't scare people so much, all for the reason of Meiko kept hitting Kaito's head and chuckling like there wasn't a tomorrow. Gakupo, Gumi, Len, and Rin dealt with the surprises. They would always pop out of nowhere that didn't just freak out the other students, but their own classmates either.

A few hours passed and they were about to perform. All of them held hands before taking a deep breath, grabbing their instruments, and going on-stage. Hundreds of students and visitors cheered for them as they took their positions and tuned their instruments. They all had matching costumes, which was tinted with the contrasting colors of black and white, the color mostly used in every event they went to.

The music started, emotions began to start flowing, along with the notes they're playing. 'Some' expressed every feeling they concealed for a long time. Yet no one saw it, no one noticed that 'some' reflected the song to their lives.

* * *

**_Kaito, Miku, Luka:_**

_Tsumetai heya wo yure ugoku kanjou  
(As our feelings swing in this cold room)  
Surudoku ketsu eguru nureta hokosaki  
(My sharply gouging spearhead becomes soaked)  
Hanabi no youni moeaga ru shunkan  
(In the brief moment when we flare up like fireworks)  
Tagai wo koga shi yakeato wo name au  
yasashiku...  
(We scorch each other, and then lick each other's burns gently…)_

**_Kaito:_**

_Kono mama deiito omotte'ta  
(I thought things were fine the way they were)  
Nigedashita yoru no naka de  
(In a night when I had started running away)  
Amaoto ga mado wo uchinarasu  
(The rain rang on the window loudly)  
Koukai ni ka saina mareta  
(As I was being tormented by regrets)_

**_Gumi:_**

_Watashi dake wo mite hoshii nante  
(Something like "I want you to have eyes only for me")  
Sunao ni ie ru wake mo nai  
(There's no possible way for me to just say it out loud)_

**_Rin:_**

_Yuganda ai no ketsumatsu ni wa  
(At the conclusion of this twisted love)  
Nani ga mieru?  
(What can you see?)_

**_Kaito and Miku:_**

_Yami ga fukamari hanatareru yokubou  
(As darkness deepens, my desire becomes unleashed)  
Ima kono basho de kotaete hoshii  
(I want you to answer me right here right now)  
Dareka no kage ga miekakure shiteiru  
(Someone else's shadow is disappearing and reappearing)  
Obieru youni sono mune ni karada wo uzu mete  
(So bury my body in your chest, as if you are frightened)_

**_Gakupo:_**

_Itsu datte shiri tai jijou wa  
(The truth you've always wanted to find out)  
Saishin no kankei darou  
(Is my newest love relationship)_

**_Len:_**

_Karakara to nibui oto wo tate  
(Emitting dry and dull sounds)  
Haguruma wa mawatte iru  
(The cogwheels are turning)_

**_Miki:_**

_Aki moshinaide anata wo shinji  
(I keep on having faith in you)  
Nare ta sagyou ga kurukuru to  
(But now I need to wind up my unrequited pain)_

**_Meiko:_**

_Tashika meatta tsumori ni natte  
(We were supposed to love and bond with each other)  
Gomakasa reru  
(But it was all a deception after all)_

**_Kaito and Luka:_**

_Totsuzen no beru karami au yuujou  
(A sudden phone ring brought up an entangled friendship)  
Uso wo kasanete hohoenda mama  
(Patching one lie with another, you kept on smiling)  
Kurushi magire no iiwake ni sugareba  
(As I cling on to your excuses of painful desperation)  
Sabita kokoro wa yukkuri to mahi shite iku dake  
(My rusty heart can slowly become paralyzed)_

**_Luka:_**

_Tsumetai heya wo kousa suru kanjou  
(As our feelings intertwine in this cold room)  
Ima kono basho de kotaete hoshii  
(I want you to answer me right here right now)_

**_Miku:_**

_Akuma no koe wa tsuki sasari kienai  
(The devil's voice has pierced into me, and won't go away)  
Kamen no ura wo saa hiki hagashite  
(Now tear off your mask and show me your true face)_

**_All:_**

_Yami ga fukamari modorenai aijou  
(As darkness deepens, our love will never return)  
Surudoku eguru nure ta hokosaki  
(My sharply gouging knife-tip becomes soaked)  
Hanabi no youni hajikete kieru made  
(Until we pop and perish like the fireworks)  
Tagai wo kogashi subete wo moyashiteku yasashi ku...  
(Let's scorch each other and burn away everything, gently…)_

* * *

They sung from the top of their lungs. 'Some' wept the tears that formed from the corner of their eyes before anyone could ever see it. Their song relieved them from a part of the pain they were experiencing.

After that day, they suddenly rose to the top of their school. Every time they walked down the hallway with the flock of students, all eyes became attached to them. A lot adored, some would go to their club room after classes. They all got admirers, the females, Miku, Luka, Rin, Gumi, and Miki, were bombarded by hundreds of confessions, while the males, Kaito, Gakupo, and Len, experienced the same thing as them. Meiko on the other hand, made her fans slightly alarmed because of her 'wild' attitude.

Another month had passed and an illness came to one of their doorsteps. Luka was almost absent for about a week now, so her friends decided to come visit her.

"Yo! I'm coming to visit Luka today… Anyone want to come?" Gakupo asked merrily. Kaito slowly drew near to Miku and whispered, "Miku~… C-Can I come?"

Over the past few weeks, the confessions were still raving on Kaito. Miku's jealousy couldn't last any longer, so everywhere Kaito went, she followed, arm locked into his. The blue-haired male started to feel his lover's grip on him.

"Sure! It's just Luka anyway," Miku said in agreement as Kaito sighed in relief. Along with the others' unison of agreements, except for Miku who had matters to attend, she raced towards the door before shutting it behind her. The seven then left for their sick friend's place.

They arrived outside a large land, with an exquisite mansion in the center. Marvelous floras inside the vicinity presented a majestic appearance to Luka's home. The only expression they had was their jaws reaching the ground, speechless.

"Megurine-sama's friends, I presume?" asked a well-groomed man that had a slicked raven hair.

"M-Megurine-sama!? Is she a royalty or something!?" Kaito stated in bewilderment of the pink-haired female's status.

"Y-Yes, we are her friends…" Gumi answered for all of them, since the others were still immobilized from all the mind-blowing scenery before them.

The man then introduced himself as Luka's family butler as he led the way to the home of the wondrous residence, "It's this way, please follow me."

They were walking in silence, until Miki stopped and complained, "Wait, wait… We have to walk ALL THE WAY OVER THERE!?"

A hand then clouted her head as she shifted to Gumi who yelled her name because of her rudeness. She wanted to offer an apology, but before she could, the butler gave them a smile and another startling statement about the Megurines' wealth. "Of course not, we're just waiting for the limousine."

All of them halted once more, their faces readable like words uttering the astonishment, and this thought was emphasized when Len voiced his thoughts of the moment.

"… How… How did we become friends with LUKA!?"

The seven waited for their escort and a few minutes afterwards, a grand and luxurious car was in front of them. Once again speechless, they still rode it to arrive at Luka's house. Her mansion was bigger than they thought, they stepped onto a marble floor and everyone felt they were in a royal castle from a fairy tale. They bit, bit, bit of walking, before finally arriving before Luka's room, except for Kaito. Everyone thought he was separated from the group and got lost. The butler twisted the doorknob as they entered, only to see a bedridden friend.

"Make yourself at home…" A farewell greeting provided by the said manservant of the house, as the others shared the same answer in their heads, '_HOW CAN WE!?_'

The seven of them were inside a well-lit room that had pink-colored walls, carpet flooring, and other sumptuous possessions residing in the area. "Everyone… Thank you…" Luka said whilst lying atop king-sized bed beside the opened window.

"No problem!" Rin replied with a smile on her face, in return to the smile Luka presented to her friends.

"Are Kaito and Miku on a date?" Luka asked, now striking a question after observing her visitors.

Miki stroked a few strands of her scarlet hair to the back of her ear as she replied, "Miku had matters to deal with and we think Kaito… well… Kaito got lost on the way here."

Sweats dropped from the sides of their faces, and their sights shifted to Luka's laughter, before easing up from her state.

"U-Uhm… M-Megurine-sama…" Gakupo's formal greeting to her composed their sweats to drop again, and for Gumi to ask about his weird behavior, "Why are you so formal all of a sudden?"

"What if she's a princess and the others think we're a threat!?" his reply was hinted with a tinge of shivering. A palm mark was then located at Gumi's forehead afterwards. Random conversations and interrogations that came from elsewhere began pointing towards Luka.

"How come you've never invited us to your house before? Even Kaito wasn't aware of all these treasures," Miki being the first to ask. Luka was slightly disturbed by the exaggerating terms Miki used, but she dropped it instead and replied to her question, "I thought this would make you feel uneasy."

"Uneasy!? Look at all these jewels!" the red-head female started to wear the accessories that rested on the table.

"M-Miki! Stop that!" Gumi retorted back to her best friend's actions but the green-haired female was already too late in stopping her. Miki already wore all sorts of jewelry she located, presenting everyone a queen-like figure.

"I hope you break something, so that you'll pay more than you think," Gumi said as Miki scoffed at her thought. "Pfft… How much do these cost Luka?"

"I-I'd rather not say…" But Miki didn't let it slide. She asked again only to get the price of twelve million dollars from her. "J-J-J-Just a necklaceee!?"

The red-head female immediately placed the overly-priced accessory back at Luka's jewelry box, making sure that something bad wouldn't happen to it on her watch. After the ruckus, they forgot their sole purpose of coming to their friend's house. Luka slowly got out of her bed, trying to pick up something, but on her way to it, she almost collapsed. Luckily, she was caught by her blue-haired 'friend', who appeared from the middle of nowhere.

"Don't forget you're sick…" Kaito lifted her up and carried her to the soft furniture. Luka thanked that she had a fever right now, Kaito wouldn't notice the blush scattered across her face. Her feelings for Kaito still remained, and also unknown to anyone. They were surprised of his sudden appearance, but they prioritized Luka's condition first before asking him a bunch of questions later.

Hours passed and it was almost evening. Some thought about going home, but their friend was sick, so they decided to stay for a bit longer. Their conversations were stopped when they suddenly heard a knock on the door. A maid walked in and announced that a meal was prepared for them.

Rin refused for all of them, it was clear that they were embarrassed because they stayed over. But after a matter of seconds, it concluded that they were, indeed, in need of food, when a growl of Meiko's stomach disrupted their conversation.

"Meiko!" Kaito barked the blushing brunette's name as she replied, "I can't help it!"

The two were about to engage in another fighting conversation when Luka spoke. "Have dinner… It's my way of saying thank you…"

They were hesitant. The only word needed to describe the thoughts dwelling in their minds. "T-Then… Don't mind if we do… Thank you, Luka."

"Go ahead… I'll stay behind," Kaito said making the others' track to stop. They stared at him quizzically, curious about the reason of his action. "I ate a bunch of ice cream earlier… I'm not that hungry."

"Where did you eat?"

"U-Uh… In the– You know what, just go!" Kaito responded as he pushed his friends outside the door, without even answering Len's question. There were no chances of arguing with Kaito, so they just followed the maid.

The six arrived at a large room, a long glass table was at the center, carpets are placed onto the floor, walls were filled with fancy-looking windows, and different kinds of arts, sculptures, paintings, were used as a decoration. The table mat was made of pure silk, so everyone assumed it must've cost a lot. On top of the table, was a banquet, different types of food were placed on it, and the silverwares, well, almost everything, are luxurious. No one had the guts to even touch the first-class food in front of them.

Meanwhile, while their friends are having an awkward time with themselves in the dining room, Kaito was taking care of Luka.

"Did you really eat, Kaito?" She gave him a doubted look right in his cerulean eyes. "Y-Yes!"

"Where?" she assaulted him with questions he couldn't answer straightly. Only did the female cease in doing so when she finally figured out the reason of his peculiar behavior, "Don't tell me…"

Back at their friends… Len's gone to get some ice cream instead, while the others were still having their awkward moment at the banquet in front of them. They were forcing each other to grab the food first.

"M-Meiko, you're the hungriest… Eat something already!" Gumi protested to Meiko, persuading her to taste the food before them. "A-Actually… I've had a big lunch so…"

Miki refused her distorted lie, "Your stomach just growled earlier!"

"I-It's from my cell phone!" Meiko came up with another lie that was less… decent. "Since when do cell phones have stomachs!?" Miki reacted. Their arguments had stopped when Len came back with neither holding nor eating something.

"I thought you wanted some ice cream," Rin asked Len. While stroking his blonde hair, a sweat dropped from his side as he replied, "I did… But when I got there…"

Gakupo was slightly irked from the blonde, giving off pauses in his story, "What happened?"

"There was no more ice cream… I wonder why…"

"Maybe they just ran out," Rin said trying to come up with the right answer to Len's question. "The maid said there were some earlier…"

"… Then why…?" Miki said as she started to grill herself with different theories.

"That idiot…" Meiko face palmed, wondering if what she thought was really the answer to the unsolved question.

Again at Luka's room… "You ate the ice cream here, didn't you?" Luka said, struggling to cover up the chuckles that wished to come out of her. He lowered his head from embarrassment before finally responding to her question, "S-Sorry…"

At that moment, her face lightened as she laughed from his actions. Luka then felt a sudden pain, headaches invading her mind, so she fainted while still having a fever. Kaito called the rest of them to try and help out their fainted friend. They took care of her for hours, forgetting the time, and when they did realize it…

"Crap… It's almost midnight," Miki voiced with worry, "Let's go home…"

The butler then joined their conversation, inviting them to stay for the night. "Just stay here for the night… Megurine-sama would feel bad if we let you go home at this time. We prepared a room for everyone, please follow me…"

Likewise earlier before dinner, they were hesitant, until Meiko spoke up, "I guess it's alright… We don't have school tomorrow anyways."

They all headed for the door, when Kaito interjected as he requested, "U-Uhm… Is there any way we could sleep here?" The others agreed at his thought as the butler answered with a nod.

Moments passed, the butler returned with futons on his hold, and some on the maid's. They arranged it on the room before leaving. They said their good nights to each other and went to sleep. Hours passed, only one was left awake. Despite her illness and the time, her eyes won't shut. She rolled from one side to another, buried her face unto her pillow multiple times, but nothing worked. Her actions had stopped when she heard a voice, "Can't sleep?"

"Kaito…"

"Stop moving for a bit," Kaito said in a soft voice, exerting a great effort to keep a low volume for the others that slept soundly.

"E-Eh?" The blue-haired male shrunk the distance from him and Luka, who instantly took notice of his action.

"W-Wait, Kaito… What are you–?"

He brushed his hair upwards while his other hand did the same at Luka's, and their foreheads soon touched each other.

'_Why did he have to check it THAT WAY!?_'

"Looks like your fever has gone down a little," Kaito reported while maintaining the low voice as he created a gap between them.

"K-Kaito…"

After a brief gaze into his face, their eyes met. The both of them discarded everything for that short, sweet, and tormenting moment, as they shared a kiss. Moments passed, she realized her actions and broke the intimacy between them.

"K-Kaito! This isn't right…"

He ignored her words, before grabbing a hold on both of her wrists as he planted his lips unto hers once more. He then parted away after a matter of time.

"… Just… At least let me do this…" his cerulean blue eyes still locked to her blue-green orbs.

"ARE YOU FORGETTING ABOUT MIKU!? SHE'S YOUR GIRLFRIEND, YOU IDIOT!" It was quite surprising on how no one woke up from Luka's outburst in the room. She then lowered her voice after realizing this.

"W-We can't… She… Miku's your girlfriend…" Luka mumbled, distressed.

Kaito flinched at her statement, "… I'm not sure… She treats me like I'm some prisoner who has to be guarded ALL THE TIME… I can't be with her any longer…!"

"Then end things with her…"

He then heaved a sigh, hesitantly accepting her idea, "… You're right… Thank you Luka… I have one question though… What… What do you think of me?"

She was dumbstruck for a moment. She could only mutter the words that gave birth to a cheated relationship, "… I don't know… I-I like you but… I can't do this to my best friend."

"… Are we going to keep this a secret?"

"… For the meantime, I guess… But please… Stop your relationship with Miku properly…"

The new 'couple' once again, kissed each other. The both of them went back to sleep, unaware of an envious witness of that cheated night.

The evening darkness then walked out while the sun rose from its slumber. Their pink-haired friend said farewell to them as they rode her luxurious car again, and leaving the place. An hour passed, before they parted ways, everyone bid farewell to each other. One wore a mask, pretending to have a happy experience on their friend's household. After leaving, he went to the park and sat on the seat of the swing.

Light glistered on his face and the accelerating winds fazed through his blonde hair. His expression is filled with despair, envy, and frustration. He then started to remember a dreadful memory while slowly swinging his seat, and gripping the chains attached to it.


	2. Breaking Tears

**Osu minna-chi! Here is the second chapter, the third one will be posted next week, our final examinations are initiated in 4 days**

**Sorry for the grammatical mistakes, English is NOT my first language, and still an amateur writer here~ Thank you for the readers! ^^ R&R minna-chi~**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN** **VOCALOID**

* * *

Previously:

_"… Are we going to keep this a secret?"_

_"… For the meantime, I guess… But please… Stop your relationship with Miku properly…"_

_The new 'couple' once again, kissed each other. The both of them went back to sleep, unaware of an envious witness of that cheated night._

_The evening darkness then walked out while the sun rose from its slumber. Their pink-haired friend said farewell to them as they rode her luxurious car again, and leaving the place. An hour passed, before they parted ways, everyone bid farewell to each other. One wore a mask, pretending to have a happy experience on their friend's household. After leaving, he went to the park and sat on the seat of the swing._

_Light glistered on his face and the accelerating winds fazed through his blonde hair. His expression is filled with despair, envy, and frustration. He then started to remember a dreadful memory while slowly swinging his seat, and gripping the chains attached to it._

* * *

Chapter Two: Breaking Tears

* * *

Kono mama deiito omotte'ta  
(I thought things were fine the way they were)  
Nigedashita yoru no naka de  
(In a night when I had started running away)  
Amaoto ga mado wo uchinarasu  
(The rain rang on the window loudly)  
Koukai ni ka saina mareta  
(As I was being tormented by regrets)

* * *

_ It was the day of their celebration and the nine of them were still in the said location, where Miku told something to Luka, before confessing to Kaito. Len wore a worried look, deep thoughts invading his mind. His blonde friend noticed this, so she struck up a conversation._

_ "Len… Are you okay?" a soft voice echoed in his mind, completely snapping him back to reality. "You were spacing out… What's going on?"_

_ "I was just thinking…"_

_ "About what?"_

_ "My… M-My confession to Miku," Len stuttered as light shades of red spread upon his face. "… You're going to do it, huh?" Rin replied with a slightly frowned character._

_ Len answered with a nod, "I hope everything goes well… Root for me alright!?" _

_ Their celebration came to an end and they all went to their previous middle school's rooftop, to gaze at the setting sun of a slight crimson, as darkness, slowly peered into the sky. They felt the familiar dry wind shuffle against their faces, the same warm color radiated and the calming silence that occupied the place._ _The others left without the knowledge of Miku's confession. When they reached the ground floor, it was then when Rin came to a realization. She told Len about his forgotten task and caught the sight of the male blonde race back to the rooftop._

_ He hastened to the rooftop, ignoring his exhaustion from constantly climbing almost five stairs now. He took a step on the top, but before he could take another, a voice stopped his actions. Her words ripped his heart apart. Her confession to Kaito crushed his feelings._

_ The two got together and was unaware of the 'some' that was heartbroken. Len slowly backed away from the doors and sprinted downstairs, tears still falling to the side of his face. He just kept on running. He didn't know where he would go, but his feet just kept on moving._

_On the way to nowhere, he bumped past Rin which made the frail girl to fall down. "L-Len! Are you alright? What happened!?" she yelled, only to get no response. Disturbed by this gesture, Rin called out to him once again while rushing towards him. Finally, she caught up to him and grabbed him at the arm. "Stop ignoring me… Tell me what happened," said a worried Rin. _

_ Len wouldn't answer her, his frustration was too much for him to talk. Rin had no choice, so she dragged Len to the park, an isolated place at that time, by his wrist. He then wept his tears before finally having Rin's awaited conversation from him._

_ "Miku confessed…" Len uttered as he cleared the salty tears forming in his emerald eyes._

_ "That's good–"_

_ "To Kaito," Len interrupted her._

_ Rin knew that her words wouldn't suffice her friend's grief, instead, she gave him a warm hug. He buried his face to her chest while still weeping the falling tears._

He remembered that last time he sat at this place, every little bit of that moment was the same, except for Rin's presence and his thoughts. He kept asking himself if he should tell Miku or not. After a matter of time, he came to a decision of telling his teal-haired 'friend', with the thought of Miku changing what she thinks of him.

That evening, Len called Miku into meeting with him.

"… Hello, Miku?" said Len from the moment he heard a voice from the other line.

"Oh hey, Len! What's up? Did you guys have fun at Luka's home?" Miku greeted him in a bubbly tone. He answered her question, "Not quite… Putting that aside, can you meet me tomorrow?"

Miku gave the sound of thinking, unsure if she would accept or not. "But I have a date with Kaito… Is it really important?"

"Yes," replied Len whilst his mind kept processing for his next actions. The female let out a sigh, "Okay, I'll cancel on him. Where and what time?"

"10 o'clock at that small sundae place nearby our school."

Chills then went down his spine, as if signaling him that what he was about to do in the near future will be a terrible decision. Still, he had to tell her.

Evening passed. He had been waiting for almost an hour, and the open window beside him just made his body heat to be more diminished. The small blinds covered at least a small portion of the window, morning rays illuminating through the glass and against his face. It was almost the time of his and Miku's meeting and Len just kept looking at the clock on his wrist, seeing it tick as it approached the decided time.

His attention switched from the device to the bell attached to the door, and saw Miku, in a casual Sunday dress. She wore a blue mini-skirt, high white knee socks, white doll shoes, and her white top looked very much like a uniform, but she wore a teal shirt underneath that was tucked into her skirt, and its buttons were closed from the top to the third button from the bottom. She looked around the place and saw Len at the corner booth. Her teal necktie waved around as she greeted her blonde male friend.

After an exchange of greetings, Miku happily went over to the cashier, unconscious of the devastating news that awaits her. While talking to the staff and ordering a banana-flavored and salad-flavored sundae, Len is currently lost in his thoughts.

'_What am I going to tell her…? … If I told her what happened the other night… She'll probably be… No. They were the ones who started it… She HAS to know…_'

The smiling teal-haired female came back, holding their sundaes as she put it down on their table, gave Len his sundae, before sticking a spoon to the dessert, and eating it little by little. Len still had that gloomy look, so Miku decided to ask him his condition, "Len, are you alright? You've been feeling down since we met today."

"… M-Miku…"

"What?" Miku asked him as her head slightly tilted. "Kaito… Kaito cheated on you–"

A sound of falling silver interrupted him. Her spoon fell out of her grasp, it was clear to him that she is stunned. But after that moment, she forced a smile while shivering, as if trying to force Len that what he said was all just a joke.

"W-What are you saying, Len? … K-Kaito would never cheat on me."

His frowned attitude became to that of a doubting one, "I know it's hard Miku! But… I saw him and Luka kiss each ot–"

"IT'S NOT TRUE! NONE OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS TRUE!"

Miku suddenly stood up, slammed both of her hands at the table, and her outburst made the other customers to catch a glimpse at their booth. Len noticed the tears that were falling from her eyes to the table and that her attitude became a frustrated one. The time to leave her alone came, so he decided to leave the frail girl after leaving one final message.

"… I'll be here for you Miku… No matter what Kaito–"

"N-No… You'll never be… Because… Because he didn't cheat on me…"

It was that moment when the blurred relationship he wished for became clear to him. There's almost no possibility that they were ever going to be a couple, but he just kept it to himself, for Miku's sake. That midnight, she locked herself up in her room, crouching on her bed while the tears still kept falling. In front of her was a picture of the nine of them during middle school, and the three of them, she, Kaito, and Luka were at the center. Both of her eyes were tired but her eyes never left the joyous photo.

'_Kaito… He wouldn't… He would never cheat on me…_'

The next few days, every time Kaito and Luka would have even a simple conversation, Miku felt insecure. Her heart stung at every laugh both of them made, but she couldn't confront Kaito. She was afraid that what everything Len said was the truth. And even if it was, it was the truth she didn't want to believe in. She loved him, even if everything was all just a big lie.

A certain day came, Kaito was sick, so Miku decided to visit him at the following afternoon. During classes, she couldn't help but feel uneasy, since Luka took the day off to take care of Kaito. Her attention was nowhere near her books or the teacher that was teaching in front, even the person that kept pulling her sleeve trying to call her out. Len just kept glimpsing at Miku, worried about her condition. The person that was calling out Miku finally got what he wished for, her attention. She looked at him for a bit, but her mind wasn't present at all.

"U-Uhm, Hatsune-san… Like you… Is so good!… Last year, I can't help… A-Anyway, w-would you like… with me?" To her, the only thing she understood were those few words, despite the speech he gave to her.

She raced to the stairs, leaving the student who confessed to her earlier without even a response. She couldn't keep the jealousy she was experiencing any much longer. Rushing to Kaito's house, Miku arrived before his door.

The female kept panting as she wept the sweat falling on her face. The heat at the time wasn't helping at all. Her hand reached for the doorknob, realizing it was unlocked and silently going upstairs. Halfway there, various noises passed through her ears as she continued advancing towards his room.

"It looks like I infected you, Kaito. Sorry about that…" said the voice of a slightly mysterious and calm voice. She then heard another, a deep voice that she knows all too well.

"No worries, Luka…" Kaito sneezed as he blew his red nose. "Anyway, how's it going with y–"

The sound of a creaking door stopped her words. Luka turned around and looked at the figure that opened the door.

"Miku!" Both of them said her name in unison. Luka looked at her wristwatch and kept her agitated feeling locked inside. "It's only 2 o'clock, did school finish early?"

"Luka, what are you doing with Kaito…?" Her voice echoed in the well-lit room, the gentle wind brushing their hairs of blue, pink, and teal.

"What am I doing? I'm taking care of him, like I said yesterday…"

"Is that all…?"

It was then when they hinted the spreading suspicions of Miku to the both of them. A bowl filled with porridge was held by Luka's right hand, while the other was out of her friend's line of sight. She stammered with words as her other hand was gripped by a larger and rougher hand. They resumed their agonizing and sorrowful act.

"Y-Yes… Are you expecting something else?" stammered Luka for the both of them.

Miku then came to her senses and realized the words that escaped her lips. She didn't want to lose her best friend, adding her lover either, so with only a few comforting words for both of them, she closed the door and left, still feeling confused and jealous. The two that were left in Kaito's room became relieved for a moment, before they felt the same heavy ache on their shoulders.

"I don't think I can do this anymore Kaito…" Luka uttered as Kaito held her crying figure, both of her soft hands covering tear-stained face.

"Just a bit more… When the right time comes."

Ever since then, Miku's leash on Kaito barely even left him any breaths, whenever Miku saw him with Luka, she makes up an excuse to take him away from her. Thus leaving Luka alone, she despised Miku for her action, but then again, she has the right to do so.

At a random club meeting, different types of clothes were hanging on racks that were placed at the club room. "Pick your costumes, everyone!" a writing on the blackboard in front of everyone. They tried on different clothes, wore different accessories, until they finally picked the best for them. After that meeting, they changed back to their school uniforms before going home. They carried their bag as they left, but two females remained. They were slow at changing resulting to being completely left out by their friends.

The first one complained, "I can't believe they left us again!"

"Let's just go home by ourselves," suggested by the other.

"You're right, Luka," a sigh left the first female. "But I think they deserve a punishment now, right, Miku?" Luka replied while a smile flits unto her face. Between the two was a warm beam of the setting sun. Small particles glimmered in the light's path as the both of them felt insecure with the other.

"I guess," Miku hesitated to agree. But after seeing Luka's expression, her thoughts pulled her inside her mind.

'_That smile… Is she faking it? Is this whole friendship real at all? … What am I thinking? We're just talking about giving a punishment to the others for leaving us… Why am I taking this too far…? There isn't even a proof of what Len said before is true… I can't think clearly anymore… What's happening to me…?_'

"–ku? Miku? Are you still with me?" Luka called out to her unmoving figure.

Miku restored her mind to reality again and replied to Luka, "O-Oh… Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts… Do you want to go home now?"

"Alright, just let me get my–" the pink-haired female was interrupted by herself. She looked around the room, unable to find the missing object by her blue-green tinted eyes. "Where's my bag?"

"Come to think of it… Where's mine either?" Miku asked.

The two searched for the object, behind the rack of clothes, under the tables, until finally, behind the two large curtains that served as their dressing room earlier, laid their identical bags. They lifted each of their own by both of their hands as they left the club room and locked it. Miku headed to her home, while Luka came over to Kaito's, carrying a bag filled with various ingredients.

"Lukaaaa! You're going to cook for me? Thanks!" Kaito thanked the newly-arrived female without even changing his position on the couch. He expected a greeting from her, yet not a single word left her lips. Her body retreated to the kitchen as Kaito screamed her name over and over again, asking, "Why are you ignoring me? Hey!"

The pink-haired female just went over to the kitchen, ignoring him as she switched the back of her head to a pissed Kaito's vision.

"Lukaaaa!" Kaito then started thinking for the answer, '_Is she mad at us for leaving them? It looks like it… Then how 'bout this…_'

As Luka enjoyed Kaito's childish attitude, she picked up her ringing phone and held it to her ear. On the other line was a voice produced by her male friend, Len.

"Hey, I'm sorry for leaving you and Luka behind, Rin kept bugging us to go home early. Her favorite show is on. I'm really sorry Miku," Len's ruffled voice partially concerned her, especially the name he referred to her. '_Len…?_'

"Len, this is Luka, not Miku."

"Why are you using Miku's phone?"

Luka was bothered by his question, "This isn't her–"

Luka looked at the device she was holding, before seeing that it was really Miku's phone. Her mind processed on how she got it, until it stopped when she thought about earlier, their bags might've switched. She looked at the living room, where Kaito was seated on a couch, telling someone words that we could describe as dreadful.

During Len's phone call to Luka, Kaito thought about calling Luka. The television reflected itself in his cerulean eyes, and the dry gust of wind brushed his hair, in which he paid no heed to.

"Look, I'm really sorry that we left you guys behind, but ghosting out on me is a bit far! But if you really think about it, you and Miku were at fault too. If you hadn't been changing for almost HALF AN HOUR, then we wouldn't have left you," Kaito exclaimed.

"G–" the voice on the other line was intercepted.

"Anyway, I'm really sorry and I love you," Kaito continued, unaware that he cut off the person on the other line.

"… K-Ka–" once more, it was interrupted by the blue-haired male, "Luka? Why aren't you saying anything? I think what I just did now is pretty sweet…"

Meanwhile on the other side of Kaito's call…

"G–" the female was interrupted, but her thoughts kept on running with no end. '_Ghosting out?'_

As Kaito spoke, her mind accepted different kinds of theories looking for the best answer.

'_… No… She can't be…_'

"Anyways, I'm really sorry and I love you," Kaito resumed.

'_He still loves me… He really does… Thank–_' even her thoughts terminated either, from the excruciating yet sweet confession of their lie.

"Luka? Why aren't you saying anything? I think what I just did now is pretty sweet…"

Her teal-colored eyes became watery, hearing her boyfriend say "I love you" to her best friend. Tears from her eyes were dropping to her phone, until it slid down to the bed sheets. Her phone gradually fell out of the grief-stricken girl, and let gravity do its job. It fell atop the soft bed as her heart kept aching, the feelings she's receiving at that moment became unbearable. She felt like she was being suffocated. Sniffles more in number than breaths.

Kaito stopped calling Luka's name unto the phone when he saw Luka revealing her figure to room, and her phone falling to the hardwood floor of the said living room. He hung up and drew closer to Luka, attempting to hug her.

"That's sweet right?" Kaito asked her, oblivious of the sudden burst of anguish to her.

"W-What is…?" She could barely speak, but managed to ask him. "Did you even listen to what I said earlier on the phone?"

Kaito grasped no response from her, causing him to continue, "I said I love you Luka!"

Tears captured her eyes, her rosy cheeks became stained, and it was then, when she finally realized that their relationship would never bear any good out of it. She was just, too late. The two of them were.

"K-Kaito… That… That was Miku…"

"Eh…?" He was dumbfounded, the blissful attitude he had before converted to that likewise of Luka. "B-But I called your phone!"

"We switched… S-She knows… She knows, Kaito! I… I don't know what to do now…"

Kaito enclosed Luka in his arms, hugging her tightly as her eyes kept leaking tears. Dawn broke as rain started to downpour, their gloomy attitude remained unchanged.

"It'll be alright, Luka," Kaito said as he kept comforting the distressed female. She murmured her best friend's name once more after numerous times, when their attentions were both caught by a sudden doorbell in the middle of the night. Heading towards Kaito's door, he opened it only to see his soaked lover. Their eyes widened in shock and were rendered speechless.

"H-Hey…"

"… Miku…" The both of them said in unison. Their voices echoed through the downpour that frustrated them, and the gray light clouds that filled the night sky just aggravated the mood.

"How's everything?" she forced a smile on her face, but the two could clearly see the sadness that lurked inside of her.

Luka wept her tears and maintained a composed character as she said, "Just go inside for now, Miku…"

"It's alright, I won't stay long anyway…"

"M-Miku… I-… I'm really sorry…" Kaito said as he unhurriedly drew near to the drenched female.

"For what?" she kept on a mask, but everybody knew that behind it, she was broken, dejected, grieved, words can't merely describe her agony.

"… B-Because we cheated on you…" a weeping Luka answered her.

"Oh that? Don't mind it!" She faintly laughed as she continued, "Don't… Don't mind it… It didn't feel right for him anyway…"

Kaito soon became soaked himself either, after walking towards Miku below the heavy rain, and wrapping his arms around her. Both of their tears mixed with droplets, before Kaito released her.

"… I guess I'll see you two tomorrow… Sorry for disturbing you."

She turned around, ignoring the weather and her cheating best friends. One question from her broke the silence and stabbed her friends emotionally.

"S-Say Kaito… Which… Which do you love more?"

"M-Miku… I… I can't answer that…"

"… Please…"

"I-I'm sorry… But I love Luka…"

"I… I see…"

Miku then left without hesitation, before the two could even say their goodbyes.

The following day, Sakura leaves glimmered with beauty but the atmosphere leaked depression. It was an irritating contrast. Miku's presence is nowhere near their school. With this, it was clear to Len, that the news he heard yesterday weren't a lie. He was furious with his two friends, especially Kaito, and also himself. Regrets were penetrating his mind.

The moment he saw his blue-haired friend, he grabbed him by the collar and gripped it as he slammed him against a wall. Everybody's eyes became attached to them, but that was nothing for Len, for him, the shameful act he was doing is incomparable to Kaito and Luka's cheated relationship.

"I told you not to hurt her!" Len exclaimed as he kept his tight grip on him.

"L-Len, s-stop it!" he released himself from the blonde's grip, but he received Len's fist across his face that pushed his legs to fall against the ground.

"Stand up… If you think this is painful… THEN THINK WHAT MIKU HAD GONE THROUGH!"

Len launched his fist again to Kaito but before it hit him, it was intervened by Rin. Kaito took that moment to slowly rise from the ground as he wiped the blood from the wound he received near his lips.

"Get out of the way, RIN!"

Infuriated as he was, his rage went down a bit after Rin slapped him to his senses, "Stop this already Len!"

His cheek then went scarlet and was later covered by his hand, as he left and made his way through the on looking crowd of students. Wings grew from the news of the earlier commotion, causing Gakupo, Gumi, Miki and Meiko, to hear about it either. The brunette and Miki went to see Kaito, while the remaining two headed straight to Luka. Shortly after Meiko and Miki searched almost all the places of the entire building, both of them found Kaito staring endlessly at the sky before him as he stayed laying at the rooftop.

Kaito greeted the both of them as they immediately asked him questions from a single source of topic. After the blue-haired male explained the whole story to the both of them, they began to hit him furiously. It marked a bruised on his shoulder, the part mostly hit, but soon healed after a few days. Luka, Gakupo, and Gumi shortly met the three of them again and everyone was now occupied with that dark and grieving void in their hearts.

Rin had chased after Len, who disappeared into the busy hallway of their school, only to reappear again in their club room. His rage was still overwhelming his mind and feelings, when he saw Rin advancing towards him.

"Are you alright?" Rin asked him, she was definitely worried. Well, who wouldn't? After that large commotion and Len's feelings about Miku, he needed comforting.

"What do you think!?" He barked at her, but after seeing her slightly startled expression, "… Sorry, Rin…"

"It's alright… Take out every bit of rage you have…"

"No… At least not to you," he clenched his fists and his teeth gritted at the thought of Kaito.

"I know you're furious about Kaito–" Rin was interrupted, his scowl and anger to Kaito presented itself in the area.

"I AM! THAT BASTARD! He committed himself to her… If only… If only I confessed to her much earlier… This might've not happened…"

She drew nearer to him and stammered, "D-Don't blame yourself, Len…" She was about to stroke his hand, but the action forfeited, he had slapped her hand away.

"… I just… I just need some time to be just with myself…"

He was once again… alone. Weeks passed, Miku remained absent, worrying her fans and of course, her friends. Some students met Len's fist, all for the reason of them gossiping about how Miku lost it. Len is still resisting the urge to show Kaito his rage through violence so he decided to seclude himself from his friends, for now.

His mind was roaming freely while his feet were absentmindedly walking to Miku's house. After the sound of a doorbell went to his ears, the door was opened by an adult, Miku's mother. He was offered to come in as he longed to see his friend again. Twisting the doorknob into Miku's room, he found himself in a room engulfed in darkness, and temperature made him felt like he was inside a freezer. Lowering it down to moderate, he averted his sight towards a sulking girl. She buried her head at the pillow she was hugging, while crouching at the corner of her bed. Various creases filled the vaguely wet sheets and teal curtains covering the rays of the blistering hot sun made the room upsetting.

"Yo Miku… Can I sit next to you?" He kept a low voice, fully aware of her situation. She simply nodded, but her shivering face was still nowhere near to be seen from Len's sight.

"Sorry Miku… If only I haven't told you about what happened with Kaito and Luka that night… Then–" He was intervened by the voice he hasn't heard for a long time as he shifted his sight from the floor to the female again.

"It's alright Len… You just did what you have to do…" Miku's muffled voice from the pillow slightly befuddled him.

"Don't worry Miku, I'll be here… Unlike K–"

"Don't… Please… Don't mention his name…" Miku managed to say with her face revealed now. He gave her a reassuring smile, the storm inside him finally calmed down after he saw the faint smile of the frail girl's face.

"M-Miku… I know this isn't the best time to say this but… I… I love you Miku… This confession is really late though, I was supposed to confess to you the same day you confessed to K– him… I've liked you from middle school, but I never mustered any up any courage to tell you, until that day… You don't have to give me an ans–"

His words stopped on track, when Miku caught him by surprise, by pressing her lips against his. Shortly afterwards, Miku leaned away, before accepting Len's confession. Joy rushed to Len's mind, momentarily forgetting about his other emotions.

"M-Miku?" Several hues of red appeared on his face as he stammered her name.

"Thank you, Len…"

"S-Sure…"

"And yes… Yes, I'll go out with you…"

* * *

**And there's that. Almost every character or two would have at least one chapter focused on them~ Ja nee!**


	3. False Demeanor

**Yo minna-chi~! Here's the next chapter, and again, advance apology for any spelling or grammar mistakes ^^" Also if I got a bit carried away in some scenes~ On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: Even though I said this cursed line already in the past chapters, I'll still repeat it every chap. I DON'T OWN VOCALOID. (WHYY!? T_T)**

* * *

Previously:

_"M-Miku… I know this isn't the best time to say this but… I… I love you Miku… This confession is really late though, I was supposed to confess to you the same day you confessed to K– him… I've liked you from middle school, but I never mustered any up any courage to tell you, until that day… You don't have to give me an ans–"_

_His words stopped on track, when Miku caught him by surprise, by pressing her lips against his. Shortly afterwards, Miku leaned away, before accepting Len's confession. Joy rushed to Len's mind, momentarily forgetting about his other emotions._

_"M-Miku?" Several hues of red appeared on his face as he stammered her name._

_"Thank you, Len…"_

_"S-Sure…"_

_"And yes… Yes, I'll go out with you…"_

* * *

Chapter Three: False Demeanor

* * *

Watashi dake wo mite hoshii nante  
(Something like "I want you to have eyes only for me")  
Sunao ni ie ru wake mo nai  
(There's no possible way for me to just say it out loud)  
Yuganda ai no ketsumatsu ni wa  
(At the conclusion of this twisted love)  
Nani ga mieru?  
(What can you see?)

* * *

That evening, every girl, excluding Miku and Meiko, held a girls' night at Luka's household. It was an opportunity to take their minds off from the previous events. Together they tried on different outfits, accessories, applied make-ups, and designed their hairs with different hairstyles. Despite all of these, uneasiness and tensions prevailed against their happiness. It was a moment of silence, and everyone was thinking the exact same thing as Miki, '_Someone… Break this DAMN SILENCE!_'

"Hey girls, do you want to do something?" asked Luka, finally granting the wish of everyone.

"PLEEAAASE!" Miki pleaded. "Do you have some games around here?" followed Rin.

"How 'bout twister?"

"I-I'll pass on twister…" Gumi shoved the invitation, only to get a bunch of please from the red-head female, "WHAT!? WHY!?"

"C-Calm down, Miki!" She fed him calming words and heaved a sigh as she continued, "My back became sore for two weeks after Gaku landed on my back when we played it before…"

"It won't happen again!" Miki kept pestering the green-haired female, until she finally gave in to Miki's non-stop pleadings. Luka then laid the game mat on top of the luxurious carpet that covered her room's floor. Twenty-five circles were printed on the mat, five circles per color. From top to bottom, it was arranged in the same manner as the rainbow: red, yellow, green, blue, and lastly violet. Several minutes later, they arrived at a difficult position.

Gumi was at the bottom, her left hand at the leftmost yellow circle, the other at the rightmost red circle, and her left foot at the fourth blue circle from the left. Atop of her is a blonde girl who's almost about to collapse, making Gumi terrified. Rin's right hand is placed at the second yellow circle from the left, left foot at the leftmost violet circle, and right foot at the center circle of the mat, the third green circle. Miki is on top and the player who took their turn last. Her left foot placed at the second blue circle from the left and her left hand at the third red circle. It was indeed, a very, very difficult position, causing Luka, who lost first, to laugh at the three of them as Gumi whimpered in fear of being the 'pillow' that catches everyone when they fall.

A sudden ringing sound then caught the girls' attentions. They all looked at the source's direction before averting their attention to the owner.

"Rin, someone's calling your phone," Luka informed Rin as she looked at the screen and uttered the person's name on the other line, "It's Len."

"I-I n-nee-… I need to take t-that…"

"C-Can't you just let it go to voice mail!?" Miki stuttered, struggling to keep her position stable.

"Len knows I'm here, so he promised only to call me when something important happened…"

"Wait, WHAAT!? IF SOMEONE FALLS ON MY BACK AGAIN, I'LL–!" Gumi protested.

"C-Careful, Rin… I don't want to see a Dark Gumi… Again…" Miki shuddered from the thought of seeing that… well… Dark side of her best friend.

"Goodbye, spinal cord… We had a good run," whimpered Gumi, "I'M NEVER. EVER. PLAYING THIS GAME AGAAAIIIINNN!"

Worries invaded Luka's mind, as she saw Gumi whimpering in fear and Rin slowly removing herself from the complicated tangle they made. Miki kept shouting, a nervous Rin is still getting herself out, Gumi is chanting her prayers, and Luka confused herself if she should help or not. It was an absolute chaos, all because of one, freaking game. Just about when Rin sighed in relief of getting half of her body out, the ringing from her phone stopped. Everyone was relieved, until they noticed another hard situation.

If Rin and Miki were to move about, they both would likely fall unto Gumi. The blonde's only support was her right hand still placed and her right foot trying to prevent itself from slipping off the mat. Gumi's chants became louder, and it even got louder after the door creaked open, and a small dog walked inside. Miki tried to run away, but after considering the fact that she would face a world of pain later, she resisted it.

"Oh crap… Miki's afraid of dogs!"

"L-Luka! Get rid of that dog!" The two of them immediately protested to the wealthy female.

"A-A-A d-dog… A-A d-d-d-dog is c-coming…"

"She's losing it! Luka, do something!"

Luka at long last agreed to the others, "R-Right! Kaito, come here!" Everyone besides Luka wondered, thinking if Kaito was somewhere in their house.

'_Kaito? He's here?_'

'_I thought he was with Miku and Gaku…_'

'_The dog is going to bite meeeee!_'

"Kaito! Come here!" Luka directed again, when finally, the small feline went to Luka and jumped off to her lap as she petted it and stroked its fur. They stared at her quizzically, weird looks thrown furiously. But all that stopped, when Miki suddenly lost her consciousness, causing a large 'thomp' sound and for her, Rin, and Gumi to fall down. Gumi ate their weights, falling down to the floor, face first.

"G-Gaaaaah!"

"M-MIKIIIIII!"

Even with all of the chaos filling the room, Kaito's bark was easily heard by everyone. He jumped off from Luka's lap and started to lick Miki's face. The red-head eventually woke up, causing another trouble for the females. She shrieked in terror, unaware that her shock also made her to kick straight into Gumi's face. Gumi's name echoed in the room as her consciousness drifted away.

A knocked-out Gumi, a freaked Luka, a paralyzed Rin, a shrieking Miki, who by the way is still running away from Kaito, and of course, the game of Twister, made that night to be unforgettable.

Miki woke up shortly after passing out because of exhaustion. After briefly scanning the room, she noticed that Kaito, Rin, and Luka were sitting comfortably atop of Luka's bed having a nice conversation. She rubbed her eyes for a clearer vision, before finally realizing that before her was Gumi's looming shadow greeting her.

"H-Hey Gumi~! H-How's it going?"

"Miki…" Gumi stretched her fingers, making a sound of cracking bones that ultimately frightened the hell out of the red-head.

"W-Wait, Gumi! I-I'm sorry! Gumi! G-Gumi! Gumi-chan! Megpoid-saaaan!"

The green-haired female just kept advancing herself towards Miki, furious because of the painful experiences earlier: Two people falling down her back and a round-house kick straight to her face. She had all the rights to be infuriated.

Rin and Luka were having a conversation whilst 'Dark' Gumi brought all the anger she had to Miki.

"Should we stop them?" Luka asked with a slight smile on her face.

"Nah, let her loose for a while…" Rin replied as the two of them laughed at the cries for help from Miki, "R-RIN! LUKAAA!"

"My condolences."

"Oh crap… I forgot to call Len back!" Rin face palmed as she reached to her cell phone only to see a message from Len. '_Why the heck won't you pick up? This is very important, damn it… Meet me tomorrow at Kiyoteru's family restaurant. AND DON'T BE LATE… PS: Don't tell anyone about this,_' read Rin as she imagined Len's pissed off face in her mind.

Rin let out a sigh, Luka asked her, "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, y-yeah… No worries."

"WOOF!" Kaito barked at her.

'_Can this dog smell lies!?_' Rin asked herself. "Why is he barking at me?"

"Apparently, he can tell if someone's lying or not…"

Rin became wide-eyed, she pointed her finger to Kaito in disbelief, "R-REALLY!? That's some pretty awesome pet…"

"His bark also proved that everything isn't okay," said Luka.

"Sorry, but I don't want to talk about it."

"WO–" the feline's yap to her was interrupted, "SHUT IT!" her direction made Kaito to whimper in terror. Luka stared with doubt to the blonde once again.

"Fine, fine… Len asked me to keep this a secret so I can't tell you."

Rin then sighed in relief after Luka chose to let it slide. She looked at the heavy downpour and the illuminating moonlight that shone through the large window of the room as she dived deeply to her mind's current thoughts.

Puddles of water are scattered atop of the wet sidewalk, people are in sync, walking to each of their destinations. Beside that busy sidewalk, lied an evening restaurant, known for its collection of wines, even the rarest, oldest, and most luxurious, Haut-Brion, Lafite, Chambertin, La Tâche, and many others. Kaito, Gakupo, and Meiko went there, per Gakupo's request, and, likewise the girls, to take their minds off from the previous incidents.

"Mmm… This is really good!" complimented Kaito the moment he tasted the liquor.

"I agree… It's better than any alcohol I've tasted before," Meiko added.

"Thank goodness we're not minors anymore."

"Speaking of which, did you guys decided on your futures already?" asked Meiko whilst gently stirring the eye-catching dye of the wine.

"Hmm… I've never given it that much thought but… I guess I'll be a manager or something," responded Kaito as he drank the remaining liquid in his glass.

He held the glass to the air, signaling the bartender for another round as Meiko teased him. "Ehh… You already thought about yours and Luka's future together, huh?"

"W-Wha–"

"Stop lying. Luka told me she'll continue her singing career… The manager and singer as a married couple…" Meiko said with a chuckle. But she wasn't teasing him nor provoking him to change his mind. She merely wanted the couple to last a lifetime, or maybe beyond death. She just hoped that no one would experience the pitiful matter Miku experienced.

A laugh came from their purple-haired companion either. "Well, if you did marry her, your future is assured. Her family is damn rich…"

"Sorry to disappoint you but, I'd like to live using my own money. I'll support her that way," Kaito calmly detested.

"Stop acting cool!" Meiko suspended her arm across his nape, evidently drunk from drinking about… 2 whole bottles already. She really need to cut back on her alcohol.

"I-I'm not!" Kaito sighed, "What about you Gaku?"

"Sommelier…" answered Gakupo. "Is that the reason we came here!?"

"Yes," he laughed, "It's like taking the first step!"

"But why sommelier? I thought Meiko served as a bad example of drinking liquors already," Kaito joked, but the brunette beside him didn't think so. "I'm right here Bakaito!" said Meiko as she put him in an arm lock.

He stuttered words of pain, "A-Agh! T-That hurts! I was just joking!"

"A-Anyway… For 2 years now, I've taken a large interest on wines. It's taste, appearance, the way it blends, preserves, all of that, somehow lit a part inside of me," replied Gakupo as Meiko finally released Kaito from her lock.

"Wait… Your birthday was just 5 months ago…" commented Meiko, a sweat dropping from her and Kaito's face.

"You drank alcohol while you're still a minor!?" He simply replied with a smirk. "You're an idiot…"

"You're not one to talk Meiko."

"Now that Gaku and I are done, it's time for your interrogation Me–" The brunette's enthusiasm surged, she answered instantaneously without even letting Kaito finish his sentence, "TEAACHEEER!"

Meiko cheered her glass upwards, hues of red scattered on her face. Tomorrow will sure be a hell of hangover for her.

"Are you sure!?"

"Of course! I'm completely aware about the rules and stuffs," Meiko answered with 'hics' in between of her words.

"Are you aware that you can't teach if you're drunk? You ARE aware of that right?" the blue-haired male clearly emphasized her drinking issues.

"Yeshhh! Just like Gaku here, I developed a fondness to it~"

"Can you pull that off?" Gakupo asked, setting aside their jokes and sarcastic attitudes.

"I don't know but, I'll give my best! I don't want the other kids to experience the same thing we did," Meiko replied in a serious tone, as if her drunk side popped away like a bubble.

Both the males and females of the group successfully managed to remove at least a little tension with the nights both of them had. The following morning, Rin fixed herself before meeting Len. She wore a short and a casual light green dress, partnered with a pair of yellow slippers with a slight design of the color orange. After suspending her bag on her shoulder, she headed out the front door and raced to their meeting place.

The blonde managed to make it to the location, exhausted. She was scanning the place when she saw Len walking towards the restaurant. She rushed to an empty table and wept the sweat off her face. The bright rays of the morning slightly blinded her sight, but putting that aside, she tapped her foot numerous times as she acted to have waited for a long time.

"LEN!"

"Yo."

"What took you so long!?" barked Rin, only to get barked back by the male blonde, "HUH!? That's my line! I arrived here an hour ago. I just took a few walks since I got tired waiting for you."

Moving past her embarrassing exposure, Len turned their argument into a discussion of yesterday.

"Putting that aside… I visited Miku yesterday."

"How is she?"

"Little bit of a wreck. But… There's more… I also confessed to her," Len replied.

The female blonde smacked her face in assumption of a wrong move Len made. "Len…" She sighed. "Miku's an emotional wreck right now! Her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend for 2 months, and they broke up for almost a month now. Give her heart a time to heal!"

"I know, I know. It's a bad move, but…"

"BUT what!?" Rin stood firm her ground on pounding some sense to him.

"Calm down, the world isn't ending… Anyway, she accepted it."

There was a long pause. He waited for her response but not a single noise came out of her. He was about to leave the flabbergasted female when she abruptly yelled, "… WHAAAAAAT!?"

Slamming her hands with such force on the table, the crowd of customers briefly looked at their table because of the sudden outburst.

"I said calm down!" commanded Len.

"Why did she accept it?"

"I don't know… At first I felt really happy, but… I also felt like I was taking advantage of her vulnerability."

"I can't believe she accepted…" mumbled Rin as she slowly sunk back to her sitting position again.

"So, any advice?" asked Len.

"It's good that she moved on… Just don't take things too fast. She might freak out," answered Rin. He nodded in response, before changing the subject about Rin's yesterday.

"By the way…"

Rin looked at her friend, her right arm resting on the table while the other was grasping her cheek, as she sipped the juice through her straw.

"What took you so long to answer the phone yesterday?"

Indiscreetly dropping the straw away from her lips, she stammered with words while her hands were waving in a rapid motion indicating 'Don't mind it'. "Oh, a-about that?" She chuckled nervously, "W-Well, we we're playing twister so…"

"Alright."

The male blonde dropped the subject, and they talked, conversed with each other as time flew.

At a disclosed location, a figure seated itself atop of a bar stool as it held a phone to its ear.

"You sure that'll work? … Good. Don't make it too–… Hehe… Nice working with you."

Later that week, Miku showed her presence to the student body. Her arm locked into a blushing Len's arm and her head resting beside his shoulder. Both of them were approached by students, attracting different attentions as they continued to walk towards their class.

"It's Hatsune-senpai!"  
"Are you okay now?"

Different questions about her well-being showered the two, Len was already uncomfortable yet Miku was serenely answering everyone.

"U-Uhm, Miku… We should probably get going now."

"Right, right…" Miku said in agreement to Len.

They shifted to the direction of their classroom, their retreating forms slowly minimizing from the students' sights.

"We're looking forward to Vocaloid's songs, Hatsune-senpai, Kagamine-senpai!"

Sliding the door open, the couple surprised their friends, excluding Rin. The moment both of them came in, Miki rushed to Miku, about to give her a hug, but to Gumi's sight, it was a death hug.

"Mikuuuu!" Miki cried out her name in mid-air, about to give her a tight embrace. But before she could even touch the teal-haired female, she was taken aback and saw Gumi holding tight to her uniform.

"Miki… Miku just came to school again. Don't kill her on her first day after–" Gumi's own thoughts interrupted her words, cautious of reminding everyone the incident that dismayed them. "Just don't give her your deadly hug!"

"What are you talking about Gumi? My hugs are adorable, not deadly."

"Adorable, huh?"

"Then what was that thing I experienced the night we spent at Luka's!?" Gumi shuddered at the memory she was in possession of. A quizzical stare was thrown by Miki, absolutely unconscious of the incident Gumi was pertaining.

_After their 'twister' incident, everyone stayed over at Luka's house and spent the whole night. Everyone was fast asleep, except for Gumi. Luka slept perfectly still on the futon laid atop of the floor with the others, Rin next to her, sleeping in a normal position, and beside her was Miki, then Gumi. Miki was talking in her sleep, not making that much of a noise, but for the person beside her, it was loud enough for her to become restless._

"_S-STAY AWAY!"_

"_M-Miki… Let me sleep…" whimpered Gumi… again. Miki had dreams, no, for her it were nightmares, so I'll use that term instead. Miki had nightmares about the feline she met that day, probably chasing her again._

"_Hm… Hm… Fufufu… Strawberries are better than carrots… Always… Banzai for deserts!"_

_A scarlet aura lit the dark room, as if flames suddenly burst out of nowhere. Green strands of hair blazed upwards, blood-seeking eyes, and a stoic expression made Dark Gumi._

"_Wha–" Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off by Miki's 'death hug'. She struggled hard to catch the air being deprived from her. Oh the hardships of removing her body from the red-head's grip made that day to be even more horrifying._

"But I was asleep!" Miki protested.

"Exactly. Who knows what you'll do when you're awake!?"

The strawberry-obsessed female clicked her tongue as teary eyes and sniffs formed in Miki. "Y-You've become meaner G-Gumi…"

"All because of you!" Gumi detested, she memorized her attitude and a hundred percent sure of that move.

Moving past their greetings, they decided to hold a celebration at Luka's garden, making it the official place for their group. Kaito, Gakupo, and Meiko were gone to give Miku 'something' while the others headed straight to the said location. It was still awkward for Kaito and Luka, but after they saw her genuine smile, they proceeded in returning to the way it used to be. Moments passed, the three who were gone earlier returned, with a rectangular-shaped gift in Kaito's hand.

"This is for me?" Miku asked in delight.

"Yup! We three were saving that for something special, but we chose to give it to you as a 'welcome back' gift instead," replied Meiko with enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Meiko, Kaito, and Gaku!"

"Open it!"

Miku and the others were taken aback, seeing that her present is a wine. Her lips parted as words came out, "W-Wine?"

Luka didn't recognize it at first, but after examining the liquor thoroughly, she was astonished, "N-NO WAY…!"

"Yep…" Gakupo smirked in success of surprising Luka.

"What is it?"

"A-A sixty-year old C-Château Pétrus… I heard from my father that this is almost impossible to acquire! H-How did you get something like this?" asked Luka.

"You're not the only one with a connection here, right Kaito?" Gakupo chuckled alongside the Meiko and Kaito, forgetting Luka's curiosity hanging by a thread.

"Sixty-years old? Don't you think that's expired now?" asked Miki for everyone that wanted to ask the same question as hers.

"The older the wine, the more wonderful it tastes!" answered Kaito and Meiko nodded in agreement with him.

"Since when did you guys know such complex things about liquors?"

"Gaku here wanted to be a sommelier, and he told us a hell lot of information about these matters."

"This must've cost millions," commented Luka, still wide-eyed at the expensive liquor in her grasp.

"About ¥18 million," Everyone just gave the three of them an expression wherein their jaws reached the ground and their eyes filled with astonishment.

Later that afternoon, after laying the mat and preparing the food, they announced the start of their celebration. Crackers going off and the tension that was engulfing the group finally went away.

"Welcome back, Miku!"

"Thank you everyone!" Miku delighted her gratitude.

"What should we do first?" asked Rin, slightly amused of the celebration.

"Oh, I want to taste the C–… The wine!" exclaimed Miku.

"Château Pétrus."

"Right, right…"

"Here you go," Meiko handed over the glass of wine to her.

"I won't regret this, right?"

"Probably… Actually, I have no idea so ask Gaku," replied Meiko as a sweat dropped to the side of her face. "Not even a bit!" Gakupo answered.

Shortly after tasting the wine her three friends kept bragging about, her eyes went wide before she held her neck and started to choke. Almost falling down, Len hurriedly grabbed her as the glass of wine fell out of the frail girl's hand, making the glass break and the wine to spill over the mat. Worries for their friend piled up inside their minds.

"M-Miku!"

"W-Water… W–" Her consciousness then faded away, her body still on Len's grip.

"I-I'll call an ambulance!" Luka rushed back to her house, anxious to find a phone and help her friend. Whilst all that was going on, Len carefully gave Miku to Rin, before gripping Kaito's collar with an enraged expression.

"WHAT DID YOU DO NOW!?"

"N-NOTHING!" Kaito defended himself.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?" Len said as his grip on his wrinkled collar tightened.

"I-I don't know anything! We bought it a few days back, and the bartender told us to retrieve it if we really needed it. He just gave it to us earlier!"

"OI SHION, YOU BETTER BE TELLING THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW OR I'LL–"

His words stopped on track the moment the ambulance came and lifted Miku inside. Everybody followed them to the hospital. Soon after the light from the sign, "In Surgery," went off, everyone immediately approached the medical professional.

"Her life's not at risk, so no worries."

Everyone sighed in relief, but the tension still lurked in them, especially when the doctor stated the reasons why the teal-haired girl collapsed earlier.

"What happened to her?"

"We detected signs of Potassium cyanide in her mouth, and sooner in her stomach. It's a good thing she was rushed to the hospital or else she wouldn't have made it. Potassium Cyanide is a poison that can kill anyone immediately. Did she ingest something before this happened?"

The doctor sniffed the tip of the Château Pétrus, after Gakupo handed the said bottle to him. Leaning it away from his face afterwards, he came to a conclusion.

"She drank this before collapsing." stated Gakupo.

"Based on its smell, it is most likely that this liquor contains poison. But to make sure, I'll send a sample to the hospital's experimentation lab and to the police's forensic department," the medical professional informed them.

"P-Police?" Miki stuttered, the female was clearly nervous at the very thought.

"Haven't you called them yet?" the doctor asked. "N-No, none of us knew this would happen..." Meiko uttered.

The man that wore a green surgical coat sighed, "Who brought the wine?"

The trio admitted themselves, and the doctor resumed interrogating them, "Did you do something to it before that gir l tasted it?" The three of them immediately refused his theory.

"Then you don't know what happened to it?" the doctor kept asking them, tensions building up gradually. All of them shook their heads, "Then this is something the police will handle."

"U-Uhm... Can't they at least wait until Miku wakes up?" Gumi requested.

"… Sure. I'll leave it to you youngsters whether you would report this or not."

Shortly after the medical professional left the room, tensions were once again built on them. Len was fuming with anger and he wanted to take it out to the person he suspects the most. Badly. However, there wasn't exactly proof that he did it, so the blonde decided to let his rage loose without hurting anyone. He went outside for some air and soon after his tears were still falling, the concrete wall received his fist, and his blood.

Back to the other seven, they were still waiting for their friend to gain her lost consciousness. Frowns continued to linger in their expressions.

"… Should we report this?" Miki asked, worried. Gumi replied for the others who was speechless of the incident, "I… I don't know," Gakupo followed her answer, "We should probably wait for Miku to wake up and for Len to return."

Rin then realized, Len was taking longer than expected, "I'll go check on Len," but before she could leave, Luka stopped her, "Wait, leave him alone for now…" Rin briefly gazed at her and soon to Gumi, "Men like to be left alone when their loved one is hurt."

"He's… He's not like any other man," was Rin's response.

And with that, the female blonde disappeared from their sight after going through the doors where the other blonde went to. A few hours had passed and no one noticed the time that flew. Everyone fell asleep in Miku's room, Miki, Gumi, Luka, and Rin slept in a sitting position at the couch, Gakupo sitting on one of the chairs wherein a small circular end table is placed on the center. Their chairs were next to the wall, so his purple-colored hair ruffed against it every time his leaning head moved. On the other chair sat Kaito, his head resting on his arms, slept soundly without his blue scarf. The whereabouts of the garment was found on Meiko, covering her from the chills of the air-conditioned room, and likewise Kaito's position, she slept atop of Miku's bed.

Len placed a blanket on the four females at the couch, silently to prevent anyone from waking up. Walking over to the unconscious girl's side, his conversation with Rin earlier still left a few rings to his mind.

"_J-Just… Just think about it."_

'_I can't believe she would say that… It's not true…_' replied Len in his mind. He then leaned his back against a wall, oblivious of the fact that he was falling asleep while waiting the unconscious girl to reveal her teal-colored eyes. The male blonde fell asleep while standing.

The following morning, Miki woke up first. A large yawn came from her mouth and small tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she stretched her left arm upward while the other stretched by pulling her left shoulder at her back. Her watery eyesight soon became clear, and she saw the others in a deep slumber due to yesterday's incidents.'_Everyone's fast asleep! But it's fully understandable… Yesterday did leave a shock to us. It's good for us to sleep once in a while… What'll I do now?_' asked Miki to herself.

She thought deeply, before snapping her fingers in succession without any noise. Slipping out of the blanket, she fixed her look and wore her suspended jacket atop of the couch. Miki tiptoed to the doors, closed it behind her and headed to her destination. A few minutes elapsed, Miki returned to the room, a shopping bag filled with lunch boxes and beverages in her hand, only to find three of her friends to be awake.

"Good morning," was her greeting to the others, she expected them to do the same but Rin immediately approached her and held both of her hands, making the bag to drop to the floor, "Miki! Where did you go!? We were worried!"

"Sorry, sorry. You were all sound asleep so I went ahead and bought breakfast for everyone. It's all bentos though," Miki said after apologizing. Len then spoke next, "That'll be enough. Thank you."

"Have any sake?" Meiko asked, making the other three to stare at her. "What?" she asked again, and Miki replied, "I-It's seven in the morning Meiko."

"What's your point?" Meiko asked clueless of what Miki's trying to say. The red-head smacked her palm across her face after hearing the brunette's unexpected answer. After ignoring the brunette's demands for liquor, her expression switched to a serious one, "Did Miku wake up?"

Len shook his head in response and frowns were brought to their faces. Miki then placed their breakfast on the table wherein Kaito's head was rested, as the said blue-haired male woke up from the gesture.

Kaito groaned as he rubbed his eyes awake, and Miki apologized, even though he didn't seem to mind that he was awoken, "Whoops… Sorry, Kaito."

"I-It's alright… Good morning…" said Kaito, a yawn leaving his mouth. The others said the greeting in response. Kaito asked for the time and Rin replied the current time, which is seven o'clock. "It's almost time for breakfast then," Kaito said back.

Miki rejected his thought, "Let's wait for the others to wake up first."

"By the way… I talked to Miku's mom. She said that she'll be here this afternoon. You guys can go home by then," informed Len to the others. Rin asked, "You're staying?" only to get a straight answer from the male blonde, "That goes without any hesitation."

Everyone nodded at his answer and they waited for the rest to wake up. Luka's head was supported by Gumi's left shoulder, leading to a situation wherein both of them woke up at the exact same time when Gumi accidentally fell down to her right. Their small shrieks caused the others' consciousness to emerge in the room, "A-Ah!" both of them shrieked, and later, Gumi said the words indicating her pain, "Ow ow ow…"

"S-Sorry!" Luka apologized, immediately getting off Gumi. "I-It's alright…" assured Gumi, although her thoughts was in contrast with her words, '_Why am I always the one who catches anyone who falls!?_'

The ruckus made the others to wake up either, and afterwards the 'good mornings' to each other, they prepared the breakfast. "Is there any ice cream!?" Kaito asked in high-spirits.

The blue-haired male did his pleading using his cerulean blue eyes, making the red-head female to feel guilt for not buying his desired dessert, "D-Don't worry, I bought some…"

Miki then smacked her head in her thoughts, '_S-Stupid! You should've just said you didn't! Now it's going to be a lot harder later_,' while heaving a sigh. Kaito then thanked her, but he asked a question that caught the red-head female off guard, "Can I have it now?"

"E-Eh!? B-B-But… U-Uhm… It's–" Miki was panicking, fortunately, Luka helped her, "Wait for the dessert Kaito, breakfast first," said Luka, making the blue-haired male to pout a little at this and for Luka to giggle at his reaction.

And with that, after Miki thanked Luka, who was entirely aware of the 'dire' situation, they departed the hospital and Miku. Len stayed behind, as he said earlier, and chose to spend the night, since the hospital's visiting hours can be disregarded if it's a relative. Together with Miku's mother, they watched over the teal-haired girl and spent some time talking with each other. If it were anyone, they would've left already. No one wants to consume their time just to look after someone everyday who's not expected to wake up any time now.

Sometime in the night, Len received a bag from Miku's mother. After thanking the said female, he looked at the contents, and he saw his school uniform and a note atop of the folded clothing. '_Here is your uniform! We still have school tomorrow in case you forgot, stupid,_' the word 'stupid' especially ticked him off. His eyebrow and forced smile was literally twitching in annoyance. But all that ended when he saw her last message, '_PS: I'm really sorry about yesterday… Just forget what I said._'

'_I'm not trying to forgive you… Not yet. I might in the future, but I'll never forget this,_' thought a now-calmer Len, as he folded the paper into a smaller one and slid it down his pocket.

* * *

**That's the end of chapter three. This fanfiction would probably end in 8+ chapters. x)  
Ja nee minna-chi! Read and review! ~**


	4. Twisted Love

**Osu minna-chi! Aoi's back XD Here is the next chapter, again, sorry for the grammatical and spelling mistakes if I have some... Also if I got a bit carried away at some points. Anyway, after this chapter the unnecessary scenes would be lessened and focused more on the story. I already have the complete thought in my mind, just waiting to be typed down.**

**The characters will be OOC because I literally don't know their characters x3**

**Thank you to Ai-chi again for helping me with this story! Also for the readers~!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own VOCALOID. T_T**

* * *

Previously:

_Sometime in the night, Len received a bag from Miku's mother. After thanking the said female, he looked at the contents, and he saw his school uniform and a note atop of the folded clothing. 'Here is your uniform! We still have school tomorrow in case you forgot, stupid,' the word 'stupid' especially ticked him off. His eyebrow and forced smile was literally twitching in annoyance. But all that ended when he saw her last message, 'PS: I'm really sorry about yesterday… Just forget what I said.'_

_'I'm not trying to forgive you… Not yet. I might in the future, but I'll never forget this,' thought a now-calmer Len, as he folded the paper into a smaller one and slid it down his pocket._

* * *

Chapter Four: Twisted Love

* * *

Yami ga fukamari hanatareru yokubou  
(As darkness deepens, my desire becomes unleashed)  
Ima kono basho de kotaete hoshii  
(I want you to answer me right here right now)  
(Which do you love more?)  
Dareka no kage ga miekakure shiteiru  
(Someone else's shadow is disappearing and reappearing)  
Obieru youni sono mune ni karada wo uzu mete  
(So bury my body in your chest, as if you are frightened)

* * *

The following day, everyone, including Len, attended school. They first went to their room for a quick practice, and also to take off the anxieties everyone had. By the time it ended, the school was already crowded with students and in no less than five minutes, the bell will ring and classes will reach its start. They sprinted to each of their classrooms, and thankfully, they made it with more than a minute left, despite their homerooms were on the other building.

Kaito, Luka, Meiko, and Miki were tired, but they laughed at their idiocy and at Gakupo, who was cursing himself for forgetting the time, resulting to an extreme fatigue. "You… You should really work out more… Gaku," said Gumi while still catching her lost breath back and snickering at him.

"Shut… S-Shut up… Unlike you… I-I was trampled by those four laughing _idiots_ who made me fall for three flights of stairs…" Gakupo replied with a frustrated expression. Gumi dropped a sweat and the other three stopped their amusement as soon as they felt the older male's dark and killer intent. It was leaking in the room and they could practically see it. Everyone, even the other students in the room, shuddered.

"A-A-At least you got a head start!" the green-haired female still continued to tease him. But then, his killer intent got worse, the other room must've shivered either. "Head start!? HEAD START!? I couldn't move for a minute and every step I took cost a world of pain. How on earth is that a head start!?"

She couldn't think of anything to calm the purple-haired man down, so she instead dropped the conversation and returned to her seat. However, the intent remained at the room, making everyone blame Gumi for earlier. Heck, even the teacher was shivering. He couldn't write properly, his hand kept on quivering and the letters he made at the board was all messed up. At that moment, everyone's thoughts were entirely the same, '_N-Never piss him off…_'

Fortunately, all that came to an end, relieving everyone. "M-Man, I've never seen him like that ever since his eggplant was stolen…" Kaito chattered with Luka, Meiko, Miki, and Gumi. "You should be thankful… You've only witnessed it twice… F-For me…" whispered Gumi, who's terrified at her memory.

"You are his childhood friend, so it's a given…" Luka said while a sweat dropped to the side of her face. Gakupo then came over. Everyone took a step back and he temporarily leaked a small portion of his killer intent. "What?" the five of them furiously shook their heads and their hands waving in a very fast motion, both indicate the word 'nothing'.

Gakupo asked, "Did you guys see Len and Rin?" only to get no response from everyone, until Meiko separated her lips and words started to leave her mouth, "They're the slowest of us all, maybe they didn't make it to class and got caught by the principal." The six gulped at the thought, their principal was a demon in disciplining, literally.

"T-They didn't… right?" Miki managed to say, but there is still the possibility that they were. Meanwhile, while the other six were currently occupied by their worries and terrifying fantasies about the two, Rin and Len were at the infirmary.

Len was sitting atop the white bed while holding a bag of ice into his forehead and Rin, atop the stool in front of him. "Jeez. Rin, never jump on someone when you're both running down the stairs! Thanks to you, we fell down for six flights of stairs," Len said, annoyed at the other blonde in the room.

"S-Sorry, Len… I was really bubbly at that point," Rin apologized, "But… I missed this," Len was wide-eyed, but only for a second. A smile flits to his face, the thing Rin haven't seen in a while, his genuine smile. Len agreed with Rin, "You're right… If Miku was here, then it'd really feel like old times."

"Len… I'm really sorry. About what I said before…" Rin said as her smile turned to a frown.

* * *

Flashback (**A/N: Forgot to put flashback signs before, terribly sorry for that...**)

_She walked up the stairs and opened the doors of the hospital's rooftop. The sudden burst of the sunlight pierced her pair of blue eyes, the leaves of trees made a ruffling soft noise, and the silence made the blonde uneasy. Across her were the orange sunset and the back of another blonde, his hand clenching the steel fence. Her eyes were fixated on him. She absentmindedly flicked a few strands of her hair behind her ear and spoke, "Len… Can I talk to you?"_

_He merely tried to look at her without moving his body for even an inch. "Rin, what is it?" he said while looking at her from the corner of his emerald eyes. "It's about her… About Miku," replied Rin, "It feels like… Everything is…" she gave a long pause, but silence still occupied the male, she then continued, "Everything's… fake."_

_Len finally spoke "F-Fake? What the hell are you saying…?" Before Rin could answer him, her words were cut off by Len's refusal of her suspicions, "How can this be fake? Are you saying that Miku poisoned herself!?"_

_"L-Len… Just hear me out! It was Miku and Kaito's break up a month and a half ago… They've been together for three years. It's quite troubling that it only took her a month for her to move on. If it were anybody, it must've taken half a year… Kaito's even uneasy with her when she came back. But…"_

_"W-What's your point… What are you saying…" Len said, now facing her, with his hair covering his eyes. Rin continued, as the sky continued to drown in the color of orange, "… She might be just using you to get back at Kaito and Luka–" she was interrupted when Len abruptly scowled at her._

_ "HA!? Where the hell are you getting that!? Miku loves me! She does! And I love her back! There's no way she'll use me!"_

_The way he scowled at her made the tension to increase. "L-Len, I'm just trying to help you as your friend, s-stop–", Rin once again intervened by Len, "What do you mean my friend!? If you were my friend, then be supportive!"_

_Len left the area, however, he heard one last statement from her, "J-Just… Just think about it."_

* * *

"It's alright," Len said in return of her apology, "I'm sorry too… What happened before really got to me," with this, Rin was relieved. She jumped at him, causing the both of them to fall down the floor, making Len's bump in the head to worsen. "R-RIN!" Len yelled, but joy was overwhelming the female, she was snuggling him, "What is it Len-kun?"

"S-Stop that! YOU'RE CREEPING ME OUT!" the male struggled in getting loose from her grip, when the door suddenly slid open. The both of them shifted their visions to it, only to see their six friends. Everyone was shocked. Beyond that, actually. But after regaining their senses they immediately closed the door after saying, "Sorry for disturbing."

"I-I-IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" his screamed was heard throughout the whole school, and his face was red as a tomato.

The two then returned to their class and different murmurs were heard as soon as the two blondes entered it.

"I can't believe he would make her do that."  
The male nodded at the other's comment, "Aren't they siblings?"  
"N-No way!"  
"Len's got a serious sister compl–"

The murmurings stopped, when Len approached the male who's about to finish his sentence, "Finish that and I'll kill you," he said while he forced a smile and started to snap the bones of his knuckles. The four students shuddered, '_W-Wah… Everyone in Vocaloid is scary… Way too scary!"_

After some time, they were at their club room, and the girls were giving a lecture on Len. "Listen up, Len. Even though you're close friends, that's way too far–" lectured Gumi. Len replied, rejecting the idea, "Th-Then tell that to Rin! I-It wasn't me–" Len was interrupted by the looming shadow of Dark Gumi, who by the way just made her appearance, "One more thing… Never interrupt a lady."

The blonde slammed his mouth shut, terrified at the green-haired girl's current killer intent. '_Her killer intent is way scarier than Gakupo,_' thought everyone, as they saw Len shivering while Dark Gumi was giving him a lecture of a lifetime.

"Those kinds of things are all right if you are a couple though… Are you?" Gumi asked, even though she already knows the answer. "W-We're n–" Len was again, intervened, however, it was Miki this time. "I thought you and Miku were going out," said Miki, unaware that everyone was just teasing Len.

Gakupo then took his turn to tease him, "Who knew Len would become such a player? Welcome to Kaito's and my world, Len. I'm proud of you!"

Both males were shaken at this, especially Len, since he was falsely accused. "W-What do you mean 'welcome to your world'!? You guys are the only players here!"

Their comments made Kaito to sulk in the corner of the room and sob. It's like a chibi version of him just learned that his pet died, or in Kaito's case, his ice cream ran out. They didn't notice the 'grief' he was currently experiencing, making his 'grief' worse.

The girls noticed the blue-haired male, while Gakupo kept teasing Len as a 'player' and Len fighting him back. '_I-I don't know if I should pity him or not…_' thought every girl except for Luka who came over to his side and comforted him.

Putting that entire 'chaotic' incident aside, they revisited Miku. It was like this every day, they would have a wild time at school and visit Miku after it.

Then, after two weeks, on their way to Miku's room, they heard two voices. Both were familiar and from a female, one had a small voice yet high-pitched, and the other had an average and her tone was of a caring one. The six sprinted to the said room, only to see Miku, sitting up and laughing. She was having a conversation with her mother when she saw her friends from the corner of her teal-colored eyes. Everyone rejoiced and a hug was given to her.

"C-Can't… C-Can't breathe…" Miku managed to say whilst struggling to catch her breath. All of them released her. A few hours passed, they spent it all in informing Miku about the latest happenings in their lives. It was quite strange for the teal-haired girl to not ask about what happened to her, nevertheless, they found fun again, as a complete group this time.

"The doctor said I'll be released in four days," said Miku. Everyone understood and nodded. A few minutes afterwards, they went home to pack their stuffs, all for the reason of them staying the weekend again at her hospital room. They brought their bags filled with their foods, clothes, other personal stuffs, and… a kotatsu. It was a good thing Miku's room was big enough for one to fit in. Luka's father was the director of the hospital, so after the daughter explained the situation to him, Miku was moved to a much bigger room. It was consisted of the hospital bed, two stools beside it, two small couches and a square table in the center, a mini-fridge and a bathroom.

"G-Gumi… Why did you bring a kotatsu?" Miki asked for everyone, who also wanted to know the answer. "It's cozier to sleep in one, than on the couch," responded Gumi, like it was a normal thing for anyone to do. "I-I see…"

Later that night, afterwards the nine ate their dinners and they were all asleep, excluding Miku and Len.

"Say Len… What… What happened?" Miku asked to the blonde. Len was taken aback, realizing that the female lost her memory of the incident. He replied to her, "Y-You don't remember anything…?"

She shook her head for her answer. Len then continued, "You collapsed…" Miku remained calm, but it was still news for her, "W-Why?" the male blonde was nervous to answer. Thinking that Miku's friendship with them will deteriorate, "… There… There was poison in the wine you drank."

"P-Poison!? Who… Who would do that…?" Miku cried and Len reassured her. She was grateful for the gesture and begged him to answer, "Who…?"

Len couldn't answer. He wanted to but they finally brought back the joy from before. All of that would go away again, because of him. "We don't know… Although… Meiko, Gaku, and Kaito bought it…"

"I… I can't believe Kaito would… The three of them…" she said as a frown flitted into her face. Len rejected her thought, "N-No! They didn't do it… We don't know who did…" His response slightly stunned her. His personality used to be the furious and over-protective boyfriend but now, all his anger disappeared.

"How could you know for sure…? Kaito… He's the one who broke up with me… He's the one who cheated… Yet, he did this to me…" Miku retorted, "… Is he jealous of our relationship?"

Her suspicions struck the blonde, causing him to think about it either, "N-No… He's not…" He defended his friends. It was then when Miku realized something. "Rin… Rin said something to you, didn't she…?"

It's like teal-haired female knew everything. "How did you know that?" Len asked. Miku spoke after weeping the small tear that formed in her eyes, "You've changed… And I know that the only person who can do that other than me is her," Miku continued, "What did she say?"

Afterwards Len's explanation on his and Rin's conversation, Miku uttered, "Even her… Even she's getting in the way. Not only Kaito… Why would they do this…?" The blonde felt speechless, he couldn't think of anything to erase Miku's suspicions.

"… We should get rid of them," Miku resumed after a long pause. Len directly declined the idea, "What? T-They're not at fault… We're not even sure if it was really Kaito who did this to you. And Rin's just making things up! She apologized for it… Let's just forget what she said…"

She was rendered speechless. But past a few seconds, she smiled at him and nodded. "You really have changed Len… But it's for the good. Sorry for what I said… We should probably sleep now," Miku said. He smiled back at her and agreed. He then leaned down and kissed the girl, the gesture that she returned either.

"Good night, Miku," Len whispered to her and she said the same greeting to him, "Good night, Len."

The blonde then went to lie on the couch of the room, leaving her to sleep soundly. Looking at his friends, Rin, Luka, Meiko, Gumi, and Miki asleep inside the kotatsu, Gakupo and Kaito sleeping in a sitting position atop the couch across him, he covered himself with the blanket before going to a deep slumber.

At the middle of the night, one gazed at both blondes and thought about his changes, and their actions. It had an expressionless face, but soon rested again, the same thoughts roaming in its mind.

A month after Miku's release in the hospital, their high school days returned to those they always had, everyday wild and silly incidents. Their band returned either, practicing for four days a week and performing at weekends. All was better again. Their band did well, and sooner they received an invitation from the principal of their previous middle school, asking if they could host their cultural festival and prepare a few activities for the students. Apparently, their performances acquired a lot of fans, not only their schoolmates but from the other schools either.

One rainy night before the festival, Rin was walking down the busy street while an umbrella and a bag of groceries were in her grasp. Strolling over the puddles, she saw the evening restaurant her three friends always spoke about. "So that's the restaurant Gaku, Kaito, and Meiko always talks about… Is their liquor really that good?" the blonde spoke to herself, thinking deeply about whether or not she would go inside. "I'm here anyway, might as well try at least one drink," said Rin as she stepped inside.

But before she could even touch the doorknob, she heard a familiar voice, a female, and beside her was another man. She was interested in their conversation, but at the same time, she didn't want to be caught eavesdropping. After wearing her hood, she suspended her yellow umbrella to dry and proceeded to a table not far from them but not near either, just the exact distance for her to hear it and for her not to get caught.

'_I wonder what they're talking about… And who's that she's with?_' thought Rin, but it was interrupted when one of them spoke. It was the female.

"This isn't good…" said the female, worried, yet at the same time, it sounded like she was enjoying it. "What is?" asked the man, he had a deep voice. '_That voice… I can't remember… I know it…_'thought Rin as she continued eavesdropping. "Things might be ruined at this point…" the female said before tasting the wine in front of her.

"Why?" the man asked again, completely clueless about the topic the female was talking about. She responded to him, "She knows… … knows," her response made the man shocked, but only for a second. Rin experienced the same thing as the man, except for her, it was a longer one. She stiffened and started quivering.

After the two left, Rin was very terrified, to the extent of barely being able to stand and walk properly anymore. The following day, Rin held back the conversation in her mind and somewhat succeeded in focusing on the festival.

Later that afternoon, moving past their earlier activities, they reached to the last one. "Everyone, this is our last game! But before we do that, we'll perform first, the game will be extremely difficult," announced Miku, as they grabbed their instruments and played five songs. The crowd was cheering every second, and both genders would scream the names of their favorite singer.

Gumi then walked up the microphone, "Everyone, I hoped you enjoyed our performance! Now, for the last game… Hide and seek! I know, I know, it's pretty simple, but it's hard either," Gumi explained to the student body of their previous middle school. She continued, "Now, form two teams with one-hundred people each. The other team will be your opponent. The team that catches more Vocaloids wins!"

"Don't expect it to be that easy! After you see us, you need to catch us too and tie us up. We might run away again! We're experts in hiding and running, so be prepared! The game will be initiated in ten minutes after the principal signals the start. It'll end after an hour, and the area is… the entire school! Good luck everyone!" declared Gumi, as they started to run in different directions. Rin followed one, the female from yesterday.

Ten minutes passed, before the staff initiated the start, he gave a small reminder to them, "Thirty meal tickets will be given to each student of the winning team–" he was interrupted by the sudden burst of cheering, making him deaf for a moment. He then continued after they calmed down, "This won't be easy though, five of them were national athletes of track in their senior year here. Putting that beside, do your best and play fair!" with that, they blew the whistle and students started to scatter all over the place.

"Where are they?"  
"Let's search the bushes too!"  
"Who're the national athletes in them by the way?"  
"I heard it was Kamui-senpai, Shion-senpai, Sakine-senpai, Megurine-senpai and Megpoid-senpai."  
"They're really awesome! They have skills in music and in track."  
"Yup. So don't hesitate to call your teammates when you see one of them, it's going to be a wild goose chase."

The Vocaloids ran and rushed to their hiding places. It was like they were middle school students once again. They clearly remembered the difficult places to hide in.

Gumi hid at a tree, atop a branch and taking advantage of her green costume to blend with the leaves, just like before, she was the 'chameleon' of the group. Miki hid at the rooftop, inside the small box beside the doors that had the sign 'fire extinguisher', which was ironic, since inside was just a small space. She was pretty flexible, to be able to fit in something like that.

Kaito hid inside the freezer of the cafeteria, evidently used to the cold temperature. Gakupo sprinted everywhere, unable to decide where to hide, until, he came across their track club room and hid at the box that contained sports shoes. After burying himself with shoes, he struggled to close the container.

Luka wore a black blanket around her body and a black hood, and attached her body at the ceiling of the planetarium, a booth of the festival. The pink-haired female was pretty quick-witted in doing different complex stuffs. Len hid himself in the library. He buried himself after making a box out of books that were lined up beside the library desk. It's like he made a coffin.

Meiko simply laid her back at the grassy fields of the tracking field, waiting for the students to chase after her. Miku decided to hide in the storage room, the room that had doors that locks it the moment it was closed from the inside.

The female blonde was tailing the female from yesterday, but throughout it, she lost sight of her. For half an hour, she explored every room. She came across one, and when she entered, the doors suddenly slid closed. Rin froze for a moment when the female said, "… Why are you following me, Rin?"

All she could say back was her name, "… M-Miku…"

Miku noticed that Rin was pursuing her, so she decided to confront her. The moment the blonde entered the room, she closed the room. The blonde then turned around to face the sudden action. Her blue eyes went wide and Miku asked her again, "Why are you following me?"

Rin stuttered, "M-Miku!" Miku grew slightly irritated, but she refused to show it in her face. She replied to her, "What are you doing Rin? Why were you following me?"

The female blonde then noticed it was the right time. She took the opportunity and exposed the truth to the teal-haired female.

* * *

Flashback

_"She knows… Rin knows," her response made the man shocked, but only for a second._

_ "What are you going to do?" asked the man, concerned. "I don't know yet. If I did something to her, Len might get suspicious. And I can't afford to make this things go out of hand," replied Miku. She continued, "I just need to build up Len's anger again and use that against them."_

_"Don't take it too far… Putting that aside, how did you know that she knew?" the man kept asking questions, but Miku doesn't seem to mind. "Len told me. I'm not sure at first so I took a risk and asked him. Luckily, I was right. He's really easy to fool, he even believed the lie I said about losing my memories," said Miku as she scorned at Len. The man slightly chuckled and said, "Oi oi Miku, remember he's still your friend. Don't make fun of him like that."_

_"You're laughing too, you know," Miku retorted, still laughing. "Anyway, I just need to clear Rin's suspicions of me and everything will return to normal again. I'll do whatever I can for my plans to succeed…"_

_Silence then occupied the two. Rin was scared stiff. Miku was first to speak then, "By the way… That poison was pretty intense you know, I might've really died."_

_"You told me to use that and now you're complaining? I can't believe you," the man said, making Miku to slightly giggle and to reply at him, "Shut it, Gaku," the name of the man shocked Rin. The pieces then completed at her mind. Gakupo worked with Miku, that both of them were fooling everyone for some reason that was unknown to her._

* * *

"Ah… I can't believe you heard all of that. I guess there's no use hiding it now," said Miku, now having a horrifying expression on her face.

Back at their friends, Rin didn't notice the time that flew. Only ten minutes were left. The only ones that weren't caught were Kaito, Luka, Miku, Rin, and Gumi. Kaito was currently running away from the students, avoiding every trap he saw. Luka was struggling to prevent any noise to be let out from her, especially that there were students looking around the room. And Gumi was transferring from one tree to another but was soon exposed. She and Kaito were being chased by crowds of students.

"H-Hahaha! I haven't experienced this in a while, right Gumi!?" screamed Kaito, still running. Gumi yelled back at him, "Agreeeee! Hahaha!" The two had the ability to outrun ten students, but it was at least a hundred running towards them, even them lacks the skill. After five minutes, Luka couldn't hold her position any longer and fell down. It instantly caught the students' attention making Luka to run for her not to get caught either.

After a little while, Kaito was caught, when a net suddenly landed atop of him. Gumi laughed at him and got distracted for a moment. She was too, caught. "Serves you right!" snickered Kaito at Gumi for teasing him. Luka managed to outrun the eight students pursuing her and hid behind the bushes. From her position, she saw the others tied up.

"How did you get caught Meiko?" asked the blue-haired male only to get a simple response from her, "I didn't hide, I just ran then got tired, then got caught," while a large grin appeared on her face. Everyone was astonished of her simple… very simple way.

"Gaku?" asked Gumi, while being tied up. Gakupo then recalled his memory and said, "I hid at the box of our old club room… It was freaking hot. I felt like I was being cooked… When I came out, I got caught," Miki laughed at this.

"Stop laughing Miki!" Gakupo barked at her. Miki then apologized, "Sorry," she continued while struggling to hold back her laugh, "It was just really… really funny…"

"How 'bout you Miki?" Gumi's question caught her off guard and it immediately stopped her from laughing. She stuttered, "I-I hid at the small box at the rooftop…"

"How did you get caught?" asked Meiko. Miki couldn't respond, so a student did it for her. "Miki-senpai got locked inside because of a teacher. She only got out thanks to us… She's been yelling for help and kept knocking on the small door from the inside loudly…"

With that, everyone laughed at a full-blown red Miki. Still giggling, Kaito asked Len the same thing. "I-I… I made a coffin of books but was caught by the student librarian. She freaking announced it to the others…" Len replied, depressed at the memory. They laughed at him, and asked a new question after cooling down.

"Where are the others?" asked Meiko. "Luka probably did something a genius would do…" replied Kaito. "I don't know about Miku and Rin," added Len.

Whilst all that was going on, some male students asked for a picture with the females, while the others were looking for Luka, Miku, and Rin.

"Miki-senpai, Megpoid-senpai, Sakine-senpai! Can we take a picture with you?" asked the male students eagerly. They agreed to this, "Sure! But later, alright? I don't want a picture of me looking like a prisoner," said Meiko to the crowd of male students. They thanked them and this gesture attracted the attention of the females, causing them to do the same either.

'Ugh… I've got a bad feeling about this…' thought Kaito and Len as they groaned, and Gakupo was enjoying the action the females were planning to do.

The females then asked the males either. They were really excited, the three of them just couldn't say no. After promising that they won't escape, they were untied and took a picture with the females. For some reason, Kaito suddenly felt a sudden chill and a killer intent directed at him, 'W-What's that!?'

Luka was glaring at Kaito, finally understanding what Miku felt at that time. But she didn't want to put a leash on him, so instead she merely glared at her lover, commanding him to stop. Oblivious of the fact that she stood up, leaves still suspended on her pink hair, she continued to glare at the females and Kaito. It was then when she got caught.

The pink-haired female clicked her tongue and started blaming Kaito, "It's all because of you I got caught!" Kaito was completely dumbfounded.

"W-Why?" Kaito asked the pouting Luka. She replied to him, "If only you didn't hang out with those girls right there then I wouldn't have gotten caught!" It was the first time she showed her jealous yet cute side and Kaito couldn't help but to blush at the sight of the female.

"It's already ten minutes after the time limit… Where are Rin and Miku? They should've revealed themselves like before…" asked Len with a little worry. They were now untied and in a few more minutes, they would declare the winning team. Instead, they just proceeded without the two females and decided to look for them later.

Meanwhile, while the others had their fun, Miku and Rin were having an intensified talk.

"W-Why are you doing this Miku? Why are you doing this to him…?" Rin asked with frustration. Miku's response was a sickening smile, "Why, you ask? Well… He's my tool and tools are meant to be used." Before, Rin was barely keeping her hatred against Miku at bay, but now, she had gone too far… way too far.

"How… How could you treat him like that!? You should be thankful HE LOVED YOU! HE PROTECTED YOU! HE CARED FOR YOU! AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT HIM!?" Rin protested. Yet, Miku was impervious of her words. It just simply irritated her. Still, irritating Miku is a dreadful thing for someone to do.

She snickered at her, "Be thankful…? Don't make me laugh. It was his decision to protect me, which was stupid when I'm not really in danger. Also, he should be the one thanking me. I 'loved' him, the way he wanted me to." Miku continued, "… Rin, just stop the act would you? You're saying all these things about 'protecting' him from me but all you wanted was for us to split up. Aren't you just grieving from the fact that he LOVED ME instead of YOU?" Her words pierced the blonde's heart and salty tears started to drop from her blue eyes to the ground.

"As I thought… I can't believe you fell for someone like him. It's just way too ridiculous," Miku said heartlessly, she was undoubtedly mocking him. Rin could barely hold herself anymore from slapping her. "Seriously, who would like an idiot like him? Not only that. He's a useless–"

Her words were cut off by a sharp pain she felt from her left cheek. Rin had slapped her. She held her hand to it, only to feel another one from the slight bruise. "Len's not an idiot. He's not a tool… He's… He's a very special person to me!"

"… You… You slapped me," said Miku in an emotionless tone, unfazed of Rin. Normally, a person would be terrified of Miku right now, but Rin wasn't affected. "SO WHAT!? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!?"

Miku retained her emotionless face and still stroked her cheek. "Nothing!? And here I thought you would do anything to make people fear you." Her tears never stopped falling and her mouth kept on scowling at Miku, "Stop using people… Stop using people to get what you want! And I'm not the only one with a broken heart. KAITO LEFT YOU! JUST ACCEPT THAT AND MOVE ON! Even if he ends his relationship with Luka, YOU'LL NEVER HAVE HIM! THERE'S NO WAY HE'LL LOVE SOMEONE LIKE-"

"Shut up… SHUT UP!" Miku said, outraged that Rin pointed out the things she hated. The things she hated the most. "WHAT… WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW!?" Rin's mouth slammed shut, seeing that Miku broke down to tears. At least that's what she assumed. Miku pretended, and Rin didn't seem to notice it. She then regained her sickening smile.

After a matter of seconds, she slipped an object outside her pocket. Rin's eyes were attached to Miku's actions and sooner at the object she revealed. Her eyes went wide in shock. The object was shaped like a knife and it had a leather sheath.

"I should've done this before…" Miku said, heaving a sigh. "It was quite careless of me to have let you live… You might ruin my plans… I can't let that happen now, can I?" her words remained to have an emotionless tone. Rin was frightened. She stiffened, unable to move. But just as before the tip could touch her skin, a voice was heard.

"Rin? Miku? Are you here?" It was Len. He started to knock down the door, knowing that it was really hard to open. Miku clicked her tongue silently, she was fully irritated. "I'll let you go for now… But remember… I can kill you anytime." Miku distanced the weapon from Rin and she, once again, did her smile. "I'll leave you a 'you're welcome' gift for letting you live…"

She then pointed the said knife at herself, before stabbing it to her side. Rin was shaken. To make things worse for her, Len just knocked the said door down and saw Miku with a knife driven through the side of her body.

Len immediately dashed to her and cried, "M-MIKU!" Rin was again, frightened. Her blue eyes still widening in shock and her body won't stop from quivering. "W-What happened!?" Len asked, disarrayed. She stuttered her words, the words that made Rin to be even more petrified, "R-Rin… S-She… S-She suddenly…"

His sight shifted to Rin, "R-Rin!? W-Why!?" Len asked infuriated, although Rin could barely speak any words, she detested, "N-No… It… I-It wasn't me… It wasn't me…"

Another voice was then heard. "Len! Did you find Miku and Rin–" Kaito arrived too, as well as the others, and by the time they did, they met the sight of Miku in a pool of blood. "Miku!" some of them yelled out as they hurried to her. "Call an ambulance!"

The sounds of sirens were heard after a few minutes, and they carried Miku inside the sent vehicle from the hospital.

Half an hour elapsed and they were once again at the hospital. Whilst Miku was on-going a surgery, Len asked to be alone with Rin, a request they all agreed to.

He had a frustrated expression. The male blonde then opened his mouth and words softly came out, "… Why did you… Why did you do it Rin?"

She was taken aback. She didn't know how to respond, knowing that Len won't believe nor trust anything she explains. Still, backing down now isn't an option either, so she decided to defend herself, "I-It wasn't me Len! Miku… Miku stabbed herself!"

It was then, when a tear was shed from his face. "I can't believe… I can't believe you're still saying that…" he continued, "That's just very unlikely… There's absolutely no way she would do that. Just stop lying Rin… Stop lying and tell me the truth! Why did you stab her!?"

Her blue eyes formed tears either, her voice was cracking up yet she still continued and protested the truth, the truth Len kept turning away from. "Len! Please… P-Please believe me… What I said before… It's all true! I-I heard Gakupo and Miku talking about it… He poisoned Miku and she instructed him to do so… She even confessed it earlier… T-They're just using you!"

"Just leave her already… She's fooling everyone… D-Don't let her do this to you…" Rin added while shedding tears from her azure blue eyes.

"Miku… Miku's right after all… The only thing you wanted was for us to break up… I can't believe this…" Len stepped back as he slowly sunked against the wall, his right hand covering his weeping eyes.

"I don't–" Rin was intervened by the words that came out of his mouth in a subtle tone, "J-Just stop… It hurts so much already! To know that you were actually just… Self-centered. You're not… You're not the friend I knew anymore."

Dismay was spelled out on her face, misery just won't leave the two alone. Words won't come out of her lips and tears flowed out of her eyes from all the angst.

"J-Just leave me alone!" he scowled the words as he tried to suppress the overwhelming feeling that resided inside of them. Rin then did so, she needed some time to be alone either and it was… for the better. Both of them thought of the exact same thing.

Though, before she could vanish from the male's sight, she heard his utters, the statement that deeply pricked her heart. "Forget about our promise already…"

That was the finish to one of the most unsettling conversations they ever had, and a few hours afterwards, Len visited Miku. She was still unconscious. His warm was felt from her body, as her hand was held tight by him. His thoughts from earlier never left his mind, it kept circling, unable to find the reassuring solution.

The succeeding day, Len found himself on Miku's hospital room, eventually realizing that he dozed off here last night. His eyes met the touch of his hands, rubbing it till it got clearer as he yawned. Whilst stretching his arm, a familiar voice greeted him.

"Good morning, Len," Miku gave him a warm smile, from her rosy lips and her teal-eyes that deceived the many, among whom was one of her friends.

"M-Miku!" Len stuttered, astonished. He quickly grasped her frail hand as he interrogated her. "Are you okay now? Do you feel sick? Are you in need of any–"

All it took was a finger. She touched his lips with her finger, telling him to be quiet for a moment. In a split-second, he then inadvertently did so.

"I'm alright… I'm sorry Len for worrying you," saying while she distanced her hand away from the blonde. Agony was depicted in her eyes making Len to merely nod in response. A distressing silence dwelled in the room. Both of them spoke nothing, not even their breaths in the cold room generated noise.

Her voice subsequently broke the noiseless situation, "… Where's Rin?"

He couldn't answer, not a sole word could leave his throat. His only reaction was the shaking of his fists. Miku perceived this odd yet reasonable expression, becoming conscious of his peculiar behavior.

"Len… Do you remember what I said before…?" Miku whispered. The blonde was wide-eyed, hesitant to accept her idea.

"That… We should just get rid of those that stand in our relationship…" Miku said, her sight still focused on the male.

"W-Wait, Miku! I know that Rin… I know that Rin stabbed you, but–"

"Then what are we supposed to do!? They clearly want us to split up… Kaito… He already poisoned me, and now Rin's stabbed me! What are we going to do if they do something much worse!?" Miku detested, taking notice of the tears that formed in his emerald eyes. Lies aside, her thoughts of the moment were, '_Ah… I'm tired of all this acting… Just agree already._'

The events didn't even faze her. Not once will something ever do, her desire for love absolutely taking over her sanity.

"S-Sorry…" the blonde said as he wiped his tears. "I'm sorry… That it took a long time for me to understand…"

Treachery's smile then flits to her face, and from the blonde's view, it was a smile for an 'innocent' sin, if something like that truly existed in the world they lived in. "Thank you Len… Then let's start with…"

Kill. A gesture she thought, but shrugged it off her mind. The female blonde didn't yearn to be like a certain teal-haired female. As she wandered in the streets at night, her eyes met the sight of a male blonde. For a moment, her heart was filled with glee. She at once yanked her arm and called out to him, although, she remembered their dire moment earlier, forcing the action to be rescinded.

'_Should I really be doing this…? No… If I don't… She might change her love for me…_' Len thought as he idly sauntered.

* * *

Flashback

_"Then let's start with… Luka," she said, still wearing the unaffected expression. "W-Why her? She hasn't done anything… except–"_

_"Except for the fact that she and… Kaito cheated on me. But that's not the case. When I said 'we should get rid of them' I didn't necessarily mean it's like that. If you do something to Luka then… Kaito might back off. As for Rin… Just… Just talk to her."_

_To be honest, the blonde didn't really get the idea yet he agreed to this. "I love you, Len… More than anything in this world… No matter how cruel this life will turn out to be, it will never change," Miku kissed him and from that moment, his face was blank with anxiety, agony, and reluctance. Forced reprisal was pressed to him._

* * *

His eyes were no longer the same, all good reasoning were of no use anymore. Granting her wish, sacrificing everything for the one he loved.

The same week, the schemes Miku presented still wandered in his mind. He rummaged his mind on how he will deal with the pink-haired female while heading towards Rin's location. Everything in the past used to cause him such woes, but it was all meaningless at his current situation.

His distance from her slowly narrowed, and the room's darkness drew his attention. Not even a single light could enter it, the blinds obstructing its way. He slowly walked up to Rin as he sat down to her bed sheets. He lingered until the sleeping Rin woke up. A few minutes passed and still, her eyes remained closed. She then grumbled something in her sleep, "… L-Len… I want… our promise… back…"

The past version of him might've flinch at her words, but an emotionless one was before her. Even their history never made a difference to the way he had become. A little shaking did the trick. Her consciousness revealed itself to him.

"Hnn… Just… Just a few more minutes L-Len… LEN!?" she sat up in astonishment, "W-What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," he said it in such a serious tone, making Rin's desires of resting to recede. Len explained the situation to her, their plans and commands to Rin directly, instructing her to back down and avoid meddling.

"I need to do this… and all you need to do is to do everything I say… Don't involve yourself with me ever again. My business has nothing to do with yours, and never will yours be mine… If you ever did interfere, I'll hate you for eternity. Our promise is broken long ago… This will be… This will be our last conversation with each other," the same tone was used, but as he said those words, it felt cold and distant. It was ceaselessly stabbing her.

"L-Len… Don't… Please!" She yanked unto the leaving male's sleeve, before letting go from such force of his arm.

"Goodbye, Rin."

He vanished from sight as her arm outstretched in his direction. She wanted to move but her feet won't let her do so. Her eyes wanted to erase the agonizing sight. She wanted to relive their memories again, and not experience this kind of situation.

Just like he said, he never presented himself to everyone, apart from Miku. He wasn't even in his home, disheartening Rin once more.

A large Sakura stood at a hill, despite its old age, its leaves kept brimming beauty. The color blood-orange overwhelmed the sky, the scorching sun radiating a warm color and it was clearly seen from the height of the said landscape.

Len hid in the shades of the Sakura, waiting for someone. '_If she sees me… Then I'll just make her lose her memories… Worst case scenario, I'll kill her,_' thought Len as he stared at quivering grasses from the pleasant breeze sweeping the landscape.

A shadow then advanced to his sight, he remained composed, unruffled of the situation he was about to engage in.

"Len… Please come out," a soft voice called out to him, stunned as he was of the voice that crossed his ears, he revealed himself. "What are you doing here…?"

Her hair danced with the pleasant gust of wind, its color perfectly blending with the sunset. She inattentively brushed a few strands away from her eyes, exposing her azure blue eyes. Her rose-tinted lips never parted each other.

Receiving no response, he asked her again, "What are you doing here… Rin? And where's Luka?" His eyes filled with a slight frustration.

"She won't come anymore… I told her to forget about this. And I… I came to stop you…" she struggled, disregarding the risks of her interference. His face cringed in aggravation, a much more threatening tone in his voice.

"Stop me…? Are you sure in doing this, Rin?" Len said, still portraying an emotionless and cold face.

She nodded her head for an answer. "No matter what you think of me… I'll always look out for you."

"… Stop this already. There's nothing… There's nothing you can do anymore," the male blonde said frigidly.

She kept up her strong façade, forcibly convincing her 'friend' to wake up from a lie, "I might not make a change… But that doesn't mean I won't try."

"Then… for me… Just stop, will you? If you don't Miku will change her mind a–" his words were cut short.

She insisted the truth to the male, "She won't! It's because she never did love you in the first place… Can't you see it Len? She's manipulating you...She's using you to take Kaito away from Luka… Why do you think she suggested her first…?"

"… Even if she is using me… Then I guess that's the case… I don't care anymore. As long as I can be by her side… No matter how much pain I'll deal with. I won't stop loving her… I'll give up my life for her," his words seemed to have gotten soft, but remained the sorrowful fragment of his being.

"If you give up on life, then I'll… I'll take it from you before someone else snatches it… or if you forget who you once were…" The grass bent down from the sudden fall of her tears falling atop them.

"You might've forgotten about our promise already… But I haven't. I'll always be true to it, despite everything… I love you too much to break it…"

* * *

Flashback

_A small stuff toy was held up to the air by a small arm, laughs roaming in the area. Rin struggled to get it back. She jumped, heaved her arm numerous times, only to fail in retrieving it. _

_"Give… Give it back!" Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, she refused to show it but she has no ability for her to do so._

_"Then get it yourself… You're 'strong' right?" a male boy in the age of ten years old said to her as he scoffed at her with his three friends that had the same age as him._

_Only snickers and sniffles were heard, until a deafening shout contacted their ears, "HEEEEEY! STOP DOING THAT TO RIN! I'LL BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!"_

_Her sight immediately averted to the incoming voice, seeing Len inclosing the distance between them. The others grinned at this as they've been waiting to settle the score with him. "Here he comes! Let's do this!"_

_The male removed the toy from his grasp, eventually making it to touch the rough ground. Rin immediately grabbed it and hid in a safer place wherein she could watch Len from afar._

_The moment he reached the others, he started the fight by sending a kick to one's face, instantly knocking him unconscious from the strong force and the impact of his head hitting the hard ground. It just made the others to scowl at his whilst attacking him in unison. Len dodged a punch before returning it as Len kicked him away._

_ Only two were left. The first one kicked Len at the back in succession and the other immediately kneed him in the face. His stomach encountered their kicks, his back elbowed countless times. Rin was tearing up at the sight of her friend being beaten to a pulp. After mustering up the courage she needed, she came out and kicked the others._

_"A-Agh! Y-You–" his words stopped as soon as Len's fist touched his face. The other then pulled Rin's hair, she shrieked in pain. Len's actions stopped the moment he heard her shriek, an ominous aura was seeping out. The other male tried to shrug the fear but it just kept on returning._

_"Don't… Don't hurt her!"_

_"A-Aaahhhhhh!" the last one fell unconscious from all the beating he received from the blonde male. Rin was clearing the tears that took shape in her eyes when Len surprisingly scolded her,_ _"Riiiiiin! Don't ever. EVER. Do something rash like that!"_

_"Wha– If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have gotten back up to your feet, BakaLen!" she shouted back, it was a screaming battle of reasons and volume._

_"U-Ugh…" Len couldn't think of anything to say back, it was an utter defeat. Not even once, did he win against Rin, except for anything physical that is. In Rin's knowledge, they were tied in that term, completely oblivious of the fact that Len was pretending to be 'knocked out'._

_"But… Thank you again, Len, for saving me!" she said innocently with cheerfulness._

_For a moment, his face flushed from the sight of her._

_"R-Rin… Want to keep a promise?" Len coped to say from all the awkwardness he experienced. She tilted her head at this, clueless of what he's saying, "What promise?"_

_"A promise to always look out for each other, no matter what!" Len then swung his arm strongly, his hand stopped in front of her face with its thumb up, "Alright!?"_

_High spirits took over her, she pounced at him as she said 'Yes' over and over again. The male was absolutely embarrassed. He then tickled her for her to finally stop._

* * *

"I love you Len! Let's just return to our normal lives… So please… Stop doing this already…"

"… Are you done yet?" His response made her flinch. He bluntly rejected her confession. "If you are… Then I'll take my leave now. I still have some matters left with Luka…"

Len moved his feet and walked away from her sight. He passed by her, when she whispered, "I love you Len… I love you too much… It pains me when I see you like this…"

Out of the blue, he leaned against her as he coughed out a red substance.

Blood.

He slowly fell, his body still leaned in her arms. She removed the knife from his heart as she sunk to the ground, carrying his weight, while her tears returned.

"R-Rin…" He struggled to say her name, it was a painful desperation. "F-For you to actually go t-this far…"

He flashed a small grin, his blood-stained face making contact with her salty tears. "Why… Why wouldn't you believe me? I should've loathed you instead of this… But… I can never do that, can I? There's no way I'll hate you…" Her voice was cracking, sniffling at every stop.

"… A-About what I said before… I don't h-hate you… I-I… I'm s-sorry… B-But now… It truly is a… g-goodbye…"

She simply nodded, forcing her throat to say something at the moment but the only things that expressed her grief were her tears.

His emerald eyes used to have that glimmering light, but now, it started to fade away from them. She kept crying. Rin wanted to hear his voice again, to see his smile, and to feel his warm touch. It utterly made her suffer when her wish will never be granted.

"L-Len… I… I love you…" She said the words that broke the grieving silence. She then started to reminisce her moments with him. Even the miserable ones.

* * *

Flashbacks:

_ "A promise to always look out for each other, no matter what!" Len then swung his arm strongly, his hand stopped in front of her face with its thumb up, "Alright!?"_

_A large dog was pursuing them as they both kept running, "R-Ruuuun!" Len screamed. His face then met the ground after he was tripped over, giving an opportunity for the feline to bite him. "L-Len!" The dog bit him and carried him by his clothes. She just couldn't help but laugh at him._

_ "Mayakashi de motenashite amai mitsu o sutte, choudai yokose hora ima sugu ni… Choudai!" the both of them sung in unison. As the song ended and the instruments stopped playing, they both rejoiced at the success of their first song together._

_ "Get out of the way, RIN!" He scowled at her, before he felt a sharp pain in his cheek. Infuriated as he was, his rage went down a bit after Rin slapped him to his senses, "Stop this already, Len!"_

_ "I CAN'T BELIEVE GAKU FORGOT THE TIME! CAN WE EVEN GET THERE BEFORE CLA– Ugwaaah!" They were running down the stairs, and, all of a sudden, he screamed when Rin suddenly jumped on his back. "RIIIIN! W-WE'RE G-G-GOING TO FA–" Nothing was heard, except for their stuttering screams and the non-stop sound of 'thuds', 'thumps', and groans._

_ "S-Stop that! YOU'RE CREEPING ME OUT!" the male struggled in getting loose from her grip, when the door suddenly slid open. The both of them shifted their visions to it, only to see their six friends. Everyone was shocked. Beyond that, actually. But after regaining their senses they immediately closed the door after saying, "Sorry for disturbing." "I-I-IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" his screamed was heard throughout the whole school, and his face was red as a tomato._

_ "J-Just stop… It hurts so much already! To know that you were actually just… Self-centered. You're not… You're not the friend I knew anymore."_

_"Our promise is broken long ago… This will be… This will be our last conversation with each other."_

_ "… A-About what I said before… I don't h-hate you… I-I… I'm s-sorry… B-But now… It truly is a… g-goodbye…"_

* * *

The sky was filled with dull clouds, emptiness taking a large space in her heart. She stared at the vast numbers of stars in the evening sky and took a liking to a special one. A cloud having the color of gray then drifts to it. It made her felt that… her life was now more… lifeless.

"I love you, Len…" she repeated the most valuable words in her life, while a smile flits unto her face.

"B-But don't worry… We… We'll be together for eternity… You're never going to be alone… I'll follow you everywhere, even to death."

She wiped the tears that shrouded her azure blue eyes before closing them, and directing the weapon to her. She stabbed herself, yet somehow, it was painless. The delighted smile of hers never left her face as she grasped his cold hand and took a final look on the rings on their fingers, and to the man she loved. '_I love you, Len…_'

Nothing. Empty. Void. These are the words that described the landscape at the moment. Atop of it, lied the two bodies, their entwined hands signifying a close friendship, and those that had a grieving heart.

* * *

**And that's the end of this chapter. School's finally over for me so I can focus more on this story. Next chapter would probably be in about 2-3 weeks, sorry if that's a bit long~ **

**PLEASE REVIEW minna~!**


	5. Corrupted Illusion

**Osu minna-chi~! Aoi here ^^ Sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter... Thank you for the readers and reviews~!**

**AuroraWinters: I can't assure you that sorry, but I can say that Luka will remain innocent XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid**

* * *

Previously:

_The sky was filled with dull clouds, emptiness taking a large space in her heart. She stared at the vast numbers of stars in the evening sky and took a liking to a special one. A cloud having the color of gray then drifts to it. It made her felt that… her life was now more… lifeless._

_"I love you, Len…" she repeated the most valuable words in her life, while a smile flits unto her face._

_"B-But don't worry… We… We'll be together for eternity… You're never going to be alone… I'll follow you everywhere, even to death."_

_She wiped the tears that shrouded her azure blue eyes before closing them, and directing the weapon to her. She stabbed herself, yet somehow, it was painless. The delighted smile of hers never left her face as she grasped his cold hand and took a final look on the rings on their fingers, and to the man she loved. 'I love you, Len…'_

_Nothing. Empty. Void. These are the words that described the landscape at the moment. Atop of it, lied the two bodies, their entwined hands signifying a close friendship, and those that had a grieving heart._

* * *

Chapter Five: Corrupted Illusion

* * *

Itsu datte shiri tai jijou wa  
(The truth you've always wanted to find out)  
(Hontou ni aishite iru no wa)  
(The one that I truly love is)  
Saishin no kankei darou  
(Is my newest love relationship)  
Karakara to nibui oto wo tate  
(Emitting dry and dull sounds)  
Haguruma wa mawatte iru  
(The cogwheels are turning)

* * *

A few weeks elapsed, black formal clothing occupied the terrain, the heavy downpour of dull clouds in the melancholic sky kept hitting their black umbrellas. Everyone felt the lamenting atmosphere, even the clouds assumed that they weren't the only ones crying that day.

Underneath the same Sakura, two grave stones stood, drenched leaves flickering against it. All was peaceful, but it was the distressing peace that no one desired. A frail girl wearing a short black dress is on her knees, her hands covering her pale, tear-stained face.

Gumi kept sobbing and neglected her soaked body. Gakupo stood besides her, trying to prevent the green-haired girl from being more drenched, although everyone thought she couldn't get anymore wet. He wanted to share his umbrella but she refused the gesture.

'_… I guess she wants to take out her misery this way… Still… I'm worried,_' thought Gakupo with anguish in his expression. After a few more minutes, Miki came to help her. She struggled to make her stand and as soon as Gumi did, she and Gumi were under the same umbrella while Gakupo gave her his black coat.

Luka leaned her head against Kaito's chest, crying while gripping his shirt. He held her head close to him as he tried to keep his sorrow inside. Meiko stood beside them, beneath her bangs, she was unmistakably crying. Everyone else was distanced from the stones yet they never took their sight off of it. No one knew the reasons for their deaths, they were simply found lifeless atop the landscape.

Among them, Miku was the nearest. She hardly showed any tears at all, not even a hint of sadness. She wore an emotionless face as she talked with them in her mind.

'_Even in the end… You're still useless. Did you do anything right at all? … Now that I think about it, you didn't. And Rin, you still kept meddling into other people's business… Did you really love him that much…? I didn't expect you'd kill him, neither you joining him in the afterlife willingly,_' she thought, oblivious of the fact that she's doing the same thing as her.

She then heaved a sigh as she reminisced the time when she saw… everything.

* * *

Flashback

_From afar, Miku observed the male blonde to see if he's successful. However, things didn't go the way she wanted it to be. No one thought it would lead to that unexpected end of their lives. She could see them moving, but unable to hear their conversation. And before she knew it, he was stabbed. It took a much larger shock to her than anticipated, especially when Rin killed herself too._

'_But… Even though you're like that… You were once my friends. I appreciate all the work until now. I'm still infuriated about the failure though, but there's nothing I can do about that… So I guess… Good work,_' she thought as she turned her back to them.

* * *

"Goodbye."

She muttered the words after shedding a single tear. Miku returned to the others' side, as they left their friends with the unchanging grieves.

A month passed, the incident still left a mark on them. Of course it would, two of their closest friends left them, never to return again. The least affected was Miku, but those thoughts would come back to her once in a while. She sipped a wine when a familiar tall figure sat atop the stool next to her. He ordered some liquor either and initiated a conversation with her.

"Miku… Did you have something to do with Len and Rin's deaths…?" the man with a deep voice asked her agitatedly. "Why are you asking me that now, Gaku?" She said without even turning to him, as she took another sip.

"Just answer the question," Gakupo retorted calmly. A few seconds slipped, she finally answered him with a small tinge of amusement, "More or less… I'm the reason why they died…"

Gakupo was wide-eyed, well, who wouldn't? Anyone would get shocked undoubtedly. "How can you say that with a straight face!?" His volume slightly rose, especially at the last part. He emphasized that, pointing out to Miku some of her wrongdoings.

"I didn't think you'd really go this far. So far you'd even kill them–"

"When did I say I killed them? I didn't. Rin killed him then herself… I was the reason why Len became like that so Rin had to do it," Miku interrupted him.

"Are you going to do it again…?" Gakupo asked anxiously.

"Who knows… I'm prepared to do anything to get Kaito back," Miku replied bluntly. The purple-haired man then got off his stool and prepared to leave her. "Where are you going?"

His movement stopped the moment she asked. "I need to be alone…" He carried the uneasiness with him outside as he thought.

'_This is… wrong. I can't believe it took two of my friends' lives to realize that… I'm such an idiot… I should've listened to Gumi before all this continued to happen…_'

A sudden smack. His thoughts were disrupted by that single action. He felt a small yet strong hand hit his back, causing him to stumble a bit. "What are you so deep in thought about?"

Gumi asked to a slightly surprised Gakupo. "G-Gumi… What are you doing here…?"

"I just brought some flowers to Len and Rin…" she said with a little angst in her face. They've been visiting the two every two weeks to keep in touch with them.

"Sorry I couldn't come," Gakupo said. "Did something happen?" Gumi tilted her head in curiousity.

"It's a long story… I'll explain it to you tomorrow…"

She stared at him for a few seconds before finally agreeing to his terms. The both of them exchanged farewells, and the green-haired female slowly disappeared into the crowd of the bustling city.

'_… I need to make some right decisions… I… I'm sorry Rin… Len…_' thought Gakupo as he felt his guilty soul to mourn.

The same time as that moment, the shades of the night lurked around her. Disheveled leaves strongly swept against the strong chill, street lights glowing in a faint color. She is in a small area that appeared to be a park, an area that directly faced the city they lived in, completely overseeing it. It glimmered in different colors, some from billboards, cars, buildings, large screens. The female advanced to its edge and grasped the slightly tarnished handrail. At first, let's say if you were that rail, you'd feel a soft touch, but in a few more seconds, you'll feel yourself being crushed to the bones.

Miku fiercely gripped the rail under her hand, her teeth gritted, and her body trembled with anger upon learning about Gakupo's rebellion against her. A soft night breeze did nothing to calm her down, nor did the enchanting scenery of the stars that flickered in the darkness and the enlightening moonlight above the dynamic city.

'_You wanted her and now you're backing out? Fool… This is a rash decision you made… I'll make you see the consequences of your actions…_' she thought and scowled mentally at him.

It had been a chilly evening. She descended from the stairs and found herself in the middle of moving groups of all genders. Then she remembered. They were once walking side by side, roaming without any sort of restraint around the city. No one knew their destination, or their purpose of carelessly straying in the middle of the night. They merely headed to places were the brightest light shimmered or the places that has the most hectic paths. Not a single of them cared, what will happen next, tomorrow, or to put it all together, the future. They simply enjoyed their lives to its fullest.

Miku cringed, but she felt a warm feeling inside her. A feeling she isn't able to identify. She struggled to shrug it off as she vanished in the crowd.

The following morning, she sat up from the bed, making various creases on the sheets as she rubbed her teal-colored eyes for a clearer vision. She could tell that the morning sun hasn't come up yet, there wasn't any warm radiance that came to her room. She looked at the clock and realized that unlike before, she woke up an hour before the arranged time on her alarm.

Not a single yawn came out of her mouth as her body slipped out of bed. She turned on the lights, revealing its contents such as the clothing for her graduation, and the costume she's about to wear for today's concert. It has a small layer of teal-colored frill sewed to a dress with the contrasting colors of black and white, and separate black sleeves like always. She took a quick bath before facing a mirror, revealing her reflected body wrapped in a towel. Her teal-colored eyes faced another exact pair, both of each implied the presence of a lurking emptiness. They gazed into each other for what seemed like a lifetime.

Snapping back to reality, after the hundredth time of combing her fluorescent-like hair, she wore the her dress for the graduation and added a final touch by putting on a light make-up unto her peachy skin, wearing a black pearl necklace, and attaching a white rose to her hair.

"Miku! Your friends are here!"

Not long after her mother's scream, she responded and left her room. But before she could fully leave it, she remembered the chills that lurked outside. Her body rescinded back inside to retrieve a scarf and a jacket, to fend off the cold temperature of the early morning. She rapidly went downstairs and towards their house's exit. She said farewell to her mother, "See you later kaa-san!"

"Take care, sweety!" the older woman answered back as Miku opened the door to meet her friends. She encountered the wintry morning as her vision was slightly clouded by the morning mist.

"Good morning Miku!" Meiko greeted the petite woman, her breath forming a small smoke in the air.

Moving past their greetings, they proceeded to their club room to practice. Their voices echoed through the empty hallways, instruments roaring in the early time. In about a few minutes, they became graduates, no longer students. A few hours passed, different crowds kept on increasing in the auditorium. Colorful banners were held up in the air and cheers reverberated in their ears.

"Ready?" Gakupo asked everyone as they grabbed their indicated instruments.

"I'm sort of nervous but I can manage…" Miki replied.

"This is for Len and Rin, let's give our best!" encouraged Meiko in succession. Smiles flitted to their faces and their mouths screamed in agreement. The crowd cheered louder as they saw the band come up the stage. Soon after the audience calmed down, they gave their opening speech.

"Good afternoon, everyone! We are VOCALOID! Thank you for attending today's performance and we assure you, you won't regret being here today! We're devoting this performance to our graduation, fans and of course, our…" Miki trailed off. She couldn't say the next word and the crowd was silent like they were in mute.

"This is also for our best friends, LEN and RIN!" helped Gumi as she rested her hand to Miki's shoulder. She glanced to her best friend and fixed her composure, "Thank you, Gumi…"

After a few more opening statements, they began performing. From a group performance representing everyone, to duets and solos. They started off with 'Migikata No Chou (Butterfly on your Right Shoulder)', a song created and sung by Rin and Len. Next are duets, then solos. Miku began the solo performances with the real crowd pleaser song that she created, 'World is Mine'.

An hour elapsed, and they're down to only a few more songs before they finish today's performance. Luka prepared back stage, the female was next after Kaito's 'Cantarella'. She took deep breaths as Miku approached her.

"Relax… You'll do great!" Miku cheered her on.

Luka was a little surprised, judging from the slight widening of her blue eyes. It was rare for the teal-haired girl to encourage someone for their performances. Putting that aside, she wore a smile and thanked Miku as she went to the stage. She waved her hand to the audience while walking to the center.

Back at her friends, Gakupo approached Gumi for their delayed conversation from yesterday.

"Gumi!" Gakupo called out to her, but he received no response. The distance between the two of them gradually shrunk before Gumi finally noticed the purple-haired man behind her.

"I need to tell you something–" he was interrupted by her.

"Sorry Gaku, if you want to tell me something then tell it to me later, 'kay? A friend of mine is dying to meet you so come with me for a bit!" She grabbed his hand and rushed through the cheering crowd, her vision acting like a telescope searching for a star.

"H-Hey! Where are we going!?" he asked. They kept on shuffling with the audience, her grip of him slowly loosening, until it finally broke. They lost each other in the crowd and darkness of the auditorium. He desperately looked for the green-haired female, when, unexpectedly, a large cheer from the audience echoed in the hall. He shifted his gaze to the stage, only to see Luka in a shredded costume. Its sleeves were torn and her clothes were ripped off.

Luka couldn't move from the embarrassment, she struggled to cover the parts of her body. Gakupo was incapacitated from the shock that greeted him. He hopelessly commanded his body to move, yet it still won't follow him. The wild crowd then unleashed enraged scowls. "Hey! Stop hogging her all for yourself!"

A lot of males were agreeing on the fan although the females were worried about the pink-haired performer. They kept scowling, Kaito is in between of her and the audience. He gave his coat to her as he waited for the others in the backstage to help her. And just as the staff and the others presented themselves, the crowd looked like they wanted to riot. One male fan near Gakupo barked in refusal of the said help, causing the purple-haired man to land his fist to him. It caught everyone's attention, the voices were all shut out except for his. He grabbed the sprawled fan by his collar and scowled at him.

"Bastard... What do you think this is!? This is a damn concert not a strip club! Think of her place right now! She's not even near from fully recovering from Rin and Len's deaths, but she still chose to perform for fans like you! Is that how you thank her for being here today!? How can you show that disgusting side of yours in front of her!?"

His fists shook in anger as he let him free of his grasp. He gave the fan another blow on the face which would unquestionably hurt because it added pain to the bruise created from earlier. Gakupo's attitude darkened and all eyes are still glued to them. Luka was now in the care of her friends and covered with a robe.

He wanted to choke him. He dreadfully craved to beat the living hell out of them. They kept muttering their apologies before they experience unimaginable injuries as Gakupo didn't move an inch. The man flinched a bit when a small pair of arms wrapped against his waist and a familiar voice called out to him.

"G-Gaku… Stop this already…"

He diverted his sight to Gumi, seeing that her face is buried against his back. He calmed down and faced the female. "Sorry…"

She released him as they walked away from the crowd. Halfway out of the others' sights, Gakupo turned to the horrified fan, "Have some respect, damn it…"

And with that, they lost their bodies to the darkness and rejoined their friends. He met the sight of Luka's tear-stained face, and he couldn't help to cringe. He approached the pink-haired female.

"Are you alright?" asked Gakupo, only to get silence and a slight nod from her. He sat beside her as a staff announced, "We told the audience that this whole thing is cancelled… Also, Megurine-san and Kamui-san? That fan from earlier, he wanted to apologize for what he did."

They anticipated to receive no response from her and when Gakupo was about to speak up, he was cut by Luka's voice. "T-Tell them… I-It's… I'm alright and… Thank them for coming today…" Shock then existed in their faces. "Why on earth are you thanking them? They utterly violated your body with their sickening eyes!" Miki protested.

"… Please…" Her voice was faint, but it echoed through their ears. The staff then agreed to do so. "Everyone… Sorry… Because of me, the concert for Rin and Len is cancelled…"

"Luka… It's not your fault…" comforted Meiko as she approached the sobbing female. "Come on… We still have an after-party so everyone can forget about today. Let's perform and waste ourselves there, alright!?" A large grin appeared on the brunette's face, making everyone to agree with her and their moods to lighten up.

"By the way, there's a surprise later so look forward to it… You'll love it." Kaito exclaimed as he kissed her on the cheek, gaining a few blushes from Luka. The group then started to clean up in the poorly lit backstage, they stuffed their instruments to their car and enjoyed casual conversations while doing so. The car was a present from Luka's parents as a thank you for taking care of their daughter. The moment they received it, everyone, excluding Luka of course, had their jaws to the ground, unable to believe the too-good-to-be-true moment to their minds.

Evening came, the scorching sun drowned away from their sights and the charming crescent moon to shine over the bustling city. An unexpected stop forced a vaguely deafening screech from the car, also resulting to everyone being pushed by gravity to the front. "M-Meiko! Be careful!"

"C–*hic* Come on… We're going to a *hic* party so it's alright! *hic*" she barked back, several shades of red scattered on her drunk face.

"We're not even there and you already finished a whole bottle! And how many times do we have to tell you, don't ever. EVER. drive if you're drunk! We might've died for heaven's sake!"

"But we didn't so *hic* so it's alright! Hehehe…" Everybody smacked their hands to their faces, due to her unbelievable response. "Anyways, we're here~!" the brunette changed the subject, 'smoothly'.

They arrived before a pier, and at the end of it rested a cruiser. It possessed astonishing furniture and decorations that gave a glamorous aura to the vessel. They entered and immediately headed to the deck of the ship. Their eyes met the sight of a stunning scenery. A small pool was located at the center, an open bar at the side of it, a band beside that either, and tables were arranged in a perfect manner. Everything was going smooth until… Halfway through the ride, Gumi began freaking out. She totally forgot about her fear of water. Everyone experienced an entirely different level of panicking.

"I can't believe you guys have a cruiser! Seriously… How much money do you have!?" Miki complimented as she stroked a fainted Gumi's hair. Moving past some scenes, the staff which is approximately 15 people, their classmates made up of 35-40 people, and them, there were at least 50 people aboard the luxurious vessel. They performed from time to time as the others enjoyed the other services provided. Gakupo, as usual, headed to the open bar to grab a drink. A female then sat atop the stool beside him.

"Miku…" He muttered.

"Did you enjoy it?" Miku asked as she ordered the same drink as him. "What do you mean?" he asked in confusion. "If it's the drink then certainly–" She heaved a sigh that interrupted his words, "That's not what I meant…"

"Then what– … Are you kidding me?" he asked furiously.

"That must've been quite a sight to you," she snickered, expecting him to agree with her.

"It… It was because of you then… Because of you that happened to her…"

"What do you think?" she replied as a sip of liquor went down her throat.

"I can't believe you… Do you really think I enjoyed it!? Are you insane!?" he scowled at her, his fist clenched like it wanted to break the glass in hand.

"I did that for you… You're welcome, by the way…"

"I agreed to work with you before so that you wouldn't involve her!"

"I think you're drunk. That isn't the deal… You worked with me so that when the two of them break up, you'll have your chance with her and he'll be mine again. I never said I wouldn't do anything to her," Miku replied, her stoic face still worn.

He merely gritted his teeth as small tears formed at the corner of his eyes, slowly dropping to the bar counter. His fists trembled and never before did he felt that way, as if his world suddenly stopped, unknown when it'll run again.

"… Fine, I'm sorry… Here, take it as a token of my apology," Miku handed him a capsule, "It's important, don't lose it… In case you ask what it does, just observe Mikuo and Neru… You'll find it… Amusing…"

She left with a grin as he looked at her retreating form in disbelief, but curiosity was attacking him either, it lured him to do so. Sooner than later, Neru suddenly grabbed Mikuo's necktie, tightening it as she pulled him in a hungry kiss. She looked wasted, and Mikuo did nothing but to succumb into temptation. Gakupo's widening eyes immediately averted itself to the alcohol in his grasp. The clarity of it made him to see his reflection, until ripples appeared from the sudden movement of his hand. His attention was then caught by the two again, they headed to the lower deck, wherein rooms were given to the guests.

Neru has her arm slung over Mikuo's shoulder as they gradually disappeared from sight. Four buttons of her top was undone, and Mikuo's tie was loosened so much that it might fall off any time. She was walking a little bowlegged and tipsy as the two engaged in another kiss. They didn't pull away for another minute.

The two, at last, vanished from his vision. He felt that as moments passed, he was getting drunk. His basis was when Mikuo and Neru shared intimate actions, in one moment, he pictured himself and Luka. Shrugging that off his mind, he gulped down countless liquors.

He scoffed at his thoughts, accepting the fact that never would him and Luka will ever be like that. She's in love with Kaito and he embraced that truth after realizing his wrongdoings from the farewells of his two blonde friends. His train of thought stopped, beside him sat the girl he always dreamed of being with.

"I bet you finished more than five bottles already…"

A smile then flitted to his face, "I win then, I'm almost there but I still win."

She smiled back at him, now getting to the real subject, "Gaku, something's bothering you… What is it?"

"… I don't know…"

Her voice was soft and subtle, and even though the music that played in their ears was quite loud, he could hear her voice clearly.

"Gaku… It's nice to talk about things you're worried about. I might be able to help you," she said in a fairly calm voice.

He sighed in response, "Alright, Megurine-sama, I'll tell you… There's… There's this girl…" Luka listened without any interruption, her attitude never changed from supporting her friend.

"I'm in love with her… Ever since we met. She's really beautiful, has an amazing character, dazzling eyes, to make it all short, she's perfect. But… She loves someone else…"

His heart ached at each word he said, as he continued listing her qualities. Luka on the other hand, ordered a liquor, and kept her attention focused only to him, her mind processing for a way to comfort him. Past a few minutes, he reached to the point where he was asked by Luka about his love's identity.

"Who is she?" Luka asked in curiosity, her eyes sparkled with intent of knowing the mystery girl that even made Gakupo to fall so deeply in love with her.

"H-Her… Her name is…"

Before he could say another word, a voice called out to Luka. They both shifted their sights to the source, seeing that it was Miku.

"Miku?"

"The staff said Kaito got lost… Your dog not the actual one," Miku replied.

"Eh!? I was sure to lock the room when I left!" Luka then hastened to leave after muttering an apology to Gakupo. They witnessed her leave as Miku sat down next to Gakupo once more.

"This is your chance… It's your choice whether or not use it," she smiled and left him alone.

Her words kept ringing on his mind, he was struggling to fight the lust being offered to him. He cleared his mind out. After a few moments, he came to a conclusion.

He gazed at her drink, and just like with other liquids, he saw his gloomy reflection. He wore a frown and depression was spelled out on her face. The liquor was loomed over by his hand, and a ripple effect was created as soon as the capsule sunk and dissolved.

'_S-Sorry…_'

She caught his attention as her body stepped onto the deck. He heard little bits of their weak-spoken conversation, his grasp still clinging to the liquor.

"I… -understood what… said, sorry," said Miku from a distance away.

Luka nodded in response, and after a few more words to each other, she rejoined Gakupo.

"Hey!" he tilted his head at her greeting.

"I forgot to thank you for earlier… For what you did…" she said, swallowing a small amount of her drink.

He never took his eyes off of her, "It's what friends do…"

"Anyway, let's go back to our earlier topic… Who's the girl…?"

"… Her name is–" he was intervened. No words could leak with her lips deeply pressed against his.

'_It really… It really worked…_'

"L-Luka!?" he stuttered the moment they separated. She wrapped her slender arms around his neck as beads of sweats emerged from her skin. Her huffs indicated she was heavily breathing, until she collapsed against his chest. Within her unconsciousness, she never stopped from catching the air being deprived of her, as if she was being suffocated.

He blinked his eyes in both confusion and surprise, she had collapsed and leaned at his chest. The woman he always yearned to be with. It's like everything is an exaggerated dream. Not taking another minute to waste, he lifted the unconscious female and brought her back to her room. He turned the knob, before it hit him.

'_I should've asked Kaito to do this… Why did I…?_'

He was bemused in his thoughts, and his attention drifted inside him, oblivious of the occurrence of Luka waking up. She lifted herself up, completely standing on her own now. Her hand reached her forehead, it kneaded it till a few aches disappeared. Her body, once again, turned to face him.

'_D-Damn it… I… I can't…_'

Amidst of the night, he heard a voice and found himself… sickening.

"What are you doing!? S-Stop it!" she strained to loosen his grasp on her. Her screams resounded in his ears, and his eyes gaining his consciousness again. His sight came across Luka's room, and as he continued to scan it, he apprehended his position. She was in the corner of her room, most of her clothing stripped off.

"Oh god…" He remembered. During Luka's talk with Miku, he drew near to the edge of the boat. He stared at the moving waves, and at the light reflected at the water. His hand gripped tougher and threw it at the sea.

Everything he thought happened up till now was all his fault, and Luka remained innocent. "S-Sorry… I didn't mean for this to happen… I'm sorry!"

"P-Please… Just… Just leave!"

He was flabbergasted. But he instantly did so, he can't allow himself to stoop at the level as those guys from earlier. He grabbed his coat and went on his way, seeing the door behind him to be closed against his face. Tears were shed. The wall then tasted his blood, the blood from his fist.

Gakupo scowled at himself.

'_I can't believe this… What the hell did I just do!? I hate this… I hate myself…_'

He left as darkness shrouded him, his mind wanting for forgiveness and redemption of himself.

'_How the hell can I change now…?_'

* * *

**That's chapter five~ Sorry if it's short and for what I did to Luka XD Also for skipping their graduation, I had no plans in making them graduate at first, so I just slipped that idea.**

**Chapter Six would probably be up in five-seven days, depends on my mood~ but I have no plan in dropping this fanfiction! This will end in 5 more chapters (epilogue counted)~**

**Read and review~! ^^**


	6. Drowsy Conscience

**Sorry for the long... long wait XD I'll make no excuses, here's the next chapter x3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vocaloid**

* * *

Previously:

_"Who is she?" Luka asked in curiosity, her eyes sparkled with intent of knowing the mystery girl that even made Gakupo to fall so deeply in love with her._

_"What are you doing!? S-Stop it!" she strained to loosen his grasp on her. Her screams resounded in his ears, and his eyes gaining his consciousness again. His sight came across Luka's room, and as he continued to scan it, he apprehended his position. She was in the corner of her room, most of her clothing stripped off._

_"Oh god…" He remembered. During Luka's talk with Miku, he drew near to the edge of the boat. He stared at the moving waves, and at the light reflected at the water. His hand gripped tougher and threw it at the sea._

_Everything he thought happened up till now was all his fault, and Luka remained innocent. "S-Sorry… I didn't mean for this to happen… I'm sorry!"_

_"P-Please… Just… Just leave!"_

_Gakupo scowled at himself._

_'I can't believe this… What the hell did I just do!? I hate this… I hate myself…'_

_He left as darkness shrouded him, his mind wanting for forgiveness and redemption of himself._

_'How the hell can I change now…?'_

* * *

Chapter Six: A Drowsy Conscience

* * *

Aki moshinaide anata wo shinji  
(I keep on having faith in you)  
Nare ta sagyou ga kurukuru to  
(But now I need to wind up my unrequited pain)  
Tashika meatta tsumori ni natte  
(We were supposed to love and bond with each other)  
Gomakasa reru  
(But it was all a deception after all)

* * *

Screams resonated in her head, her own voice impaling her senses. A sinking feeling seized her bruised heart. She held tight to it. Clenching her chest, she was unable to do anything. As if her own body denied her access, whilst an agonizing sight took place in front of her.

Crimson flames flickered on her surroundings and inside, figures were reaching for a way out. She couldn't see them clearly but their voices were all too familiar. Cries of her friends. They were slowly turning to crisp. She sternly clutched her head, crouching in the process. Her tears never reached the ground, it immediately dissolved in the fiery area. Slowly, they coughed blood and winced every now and then. Kneeling, the need for air increased.

She couldn't feel any warmth nor coldness in the scorching room. The only anguish was the portrayal of her friends' deaths. She closed her eyes, her soft hands covering her ears as hard as possible.

"W-Why is t-this happening!?" Even though her senses were sealed, her body knows that everyone had their lives rapidly elapsing.

"S-Somebody… Stop this!"

No one responded. The only sounds that seized in the inferno were screams and the flickering of flames that enveloped them.

"…–i! Miki! Wake up!" A voice instantaneously dragged her out of her unconsciousness, "Miki? Are you alright?" She sat up, heavily breathing. Beads of sweat rushed to her face and tears formed in her eyes.

"What happened?" She looked at the speaker. It took a few more breaths, before she answered her, "G-Gumi… E-Everyone! T-They were being–! I-I couldn't move, everyone was d-dying right in front of me!"

Immediately closing the frightened female to her grasp, she hushed her, stroked her scarlet hair for comfort, "It's only a dream…"

* * *

Gakupo wandered in his mind, utterly inflicted with misery. He felt being drifted again into darkness without anyone else. '_D-Damn… This is one hell of a hangover…_' The man just woke up and a terrible headache crashed into him without delay. Stress came together with the throbbing pain in his mind, making matters worse for him. A soft knock was heard, a sound that reverberated endlessly.

"Ugh… C-Coming…" Standing and walking towards the door, he rubbed his skin for the ache to vanish. "M-Miku!"

"Good morning," she smiled to him, "How was last night for you?" she immediately entered the room with no permission. It entirely angered him. "I don't want to talk about it. Just leave…" He said, struggling to constrict his emotions from bursting.

"Ehhh? You're no fun…" Miku said with a smirk, utterly irritating him. "… Just… leave."

She stared at him, no emotions or any sort were displayed. Emptiness was carved in her eyes, one could tell that her sanity already fled away from her.

"… Leave," he commanded once again.

"Aren't you a rude one? I just got here–"

"I DON'T CARE! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!"

Distant silence occupied them, one slightly stunned, one gritting in anger.

"I'm guessing things didn't go well last night… Are you sure you don't want to talk–"

Last draw. His patience elapsed, and from the top of his voice, he scowled at her, "NO! Can't you see that!? Are you just so damn dense or freaking playing with me!?" Another silent moment. She stared vastly at his shaking fists and his infuriated face. Heaving a sigh, she finally preferred to leave him alone.

"Did she take it?" she whispered, halting to hear his answer. He simply shook his head with his fingers rubbing his forehead. "I'll see you later then…" Miku said as her feet walk towards outside.

"By the way," before he could have his moments, a sharp pain brushed his cheek. Then an eerie sound of a falling metal echoed in the silence. He vaguely shifted his attention to it from the corner of his eyes, as a wound was created and blood started to gradually seep out of it.

"Don't you dare think of going against me," she said with her hand outstretched as if she threw something at his direction. He felt his blood drop from his cheek to his neck. Glaring daggers at each other, he slammed the door in front of her face. Light was again prohibited in his room. His hand reached for his injury, a stinging pain was the result. Gakupo leaned against the door as his mind screamed curses and insults at her.

* * *

'_I-It's only a d-dream… I-It's alright…_' Miki thought to herself.

"Miki? Are you alright now?" asked Gumi as she entered the dimly lit room. She nodded in response. They walked to the deck in an uncomfortable silence. Gumi then saw it again, the fast movement of the vessel. Preventing herself from throwing up, she immediately laid against a chair and strived to relax. The scarlet-haired female laughed quietly at her, but thanks to that she was enlightened. Moving towards the center, she scanned the vicinity for her friends.

Miki was dumbfounded at herself. Her friends were performing at the side, a small audience sluggishly surrounded them. With one last struck at the bass guitar, the song came to an end. A small smile flits to her face as a hand rested itself on her shoulder. She looked at her side and saw Kaito.

"It looks like you're alright now," he said to her, "Miki, let's sing 'that'."

"That…?" she asked in confusion. After a few more seconds, she realized what he meant. "Are you sure? I mean, no one besides us knows 'that' yet."

"It's alright! Besides, this is a private party anyway, we can conclude this as a final surprise performance… I'm sure they'll be really–" the ice-cream loving male was interrupted by a brunette.

"We'll be really–?"

"Agk! N-Nothing! A-Anyway… Miki and I wanted to sing something. Mind if we take over the spotlight for a moment?"

Receiving quizzical looks from everyone besides Miki and the unconscious member, Gumi, they nodded their heads as a response to his request. He immediately grabbed Miki up the stage with an idiotic expression splattered in his face. Due to this, Luka slightly laughed at him, oblivious of the stare she was getting from a distance.

They grabbed the required instruments, and within a few more preparations, they started. Starting from a subtle sound, Kaito sung along, and the music soon became an explosive melody. Tuning it down a bit, Miki sung the lyrics as their friends curiously listened at their music.

* * *

**_Miki:_**

_Hajime to owari no iranai imi  
(The unneeded meaning of start and end)  
Kono kokoro no jouhatsu e to  
(To the disappearance of this soul)  
Dare ga hinsei o oboeteru ka?  
(Who remembers characters?)  
Kyouki no mado kara, sayonara  
(From the window of madness, goodbye)_

_Konnichiwa, watashi  
(Hello, myself)  
Awanakatta darou?  
(Haven't we met before?)  
Sayonara, anata  
(Goodbye, yourself)  
Saa, hanashi shiyou ka?  
(So, want to talk?)_

_iNSaNiTY  
Fusou shisou desu  
(Like floating on air)  
PSYCHoPaTHY  
Nonki na jinsei  
(A carefree life)  
iNSaNiTY  
Owarenai madoi  
(An illusion that can't end)  
CaPTiViTY  
Nigerarenai  
(Unable to run away)_

_iNSaNiTY  
Fusou shisou desu  
(Like floating on air)  
PSYCHoPaTHY  
Nonki na jinsei  
(A carefree life)  
iNSaNiTY  
Owarenai madoi  
(An illusion that can't end)  
CaPTiViTY  
Odaku ga tsudzukesou  
(Like the corruption is continuing)_

**_Kaito:_**

_Ne, doko de atta koto ga nai ka?  
(Hey, haven't we met somewhere in the past?)  
Ne, itoshii kimi to hanashitai  
(Hey, you're special to me, I want to talk to you)  
Ne, jikan wa? Kyou wa? Wakaranai  
(Hey, what time is it? What's today? I don't know)  
Ne! Wasurete shimaeba yokatta  
(Hey! It would be great if we completely forgot)_

_iNSaNiTY  
Fusou shisou desu  
(Like floating on air)  
PSYCHoPaTHY  
Nonki na jinsei  
(A carefree life)  
iNSaNiTY  
Yami ka? Hikari ka?  
(Dark? Light?)  
iNSaNiTY  
iNSaNiTY_

**_Miki:_**

_sAnIty  
Mou mienai kuro  
(Can't see the dark already)  
pUrIty  
Motto nagai hibi  
(The days are longer)  
sAnIty  
Sore mo shizumanakya  
(But that also must sink)  
"sAnIty"  
… Tte nandesu ka?  
(… What is that?)_

_iNSaNiTY  
Fusou shisou desu  
(Like floating on air)  
PSYCHoPaTHY  
Nonki na jinsei  
(A carefree life)  
iNSaNiTY  
Owarenai madoi  
(An illusion that can't end)  
CaPTiViTY  
Nigerarenai  
(Unable to run away)_

_iNSaNiTY  
Fusou shisou desu  
(Like floating on air)  
PSYCHoPaTHY  
Nonki na jinsei  
(A carefree life)  
iNSaNiTY  
Owarenai madoi  
(An illusion that can't end)  
CaPTiViTY  
Odaku ga tsudzukesou  
(Like the corruption is continuing)_

* * *

The song ended, and a noiseless audience was before them. Both of them were unsure whether they liked it or not. They nervously gazed at them as they waited for a response. An awkward situation for the red-head and the blue-haired male.

A few more seconds later, a small clap echoed that soon became a large applause and cheering. Both gave a genuine smile, before Kaito almost fell down the stage from a rather strong punch from a certain brunette.

"Great job, Bakaito! That was awesome!" she said, clouting his back. "K-Kaito!" Luka yelled. Only a step left before he meets the floor, face first. All was then assured when Gakupo pulled his arm to aid him. "T-Thanks, Gaku…" Kaito said, panting from nervousness as he glared at Meiko. She only gave him a playful apology.

They gave them interrogations about the new song, endless bombarding about it being a secret. Luka giggled at the two, they were drowning from the words coming out at all directions. In Miki's mind, she was cursing Kaito, for persuading her to perform, and herself, for giving up to his request.

"Ah! We're almost at the pier… Save the questions for later alright?" said Luka, earning a countless thank you from Miki and Kaito. He kissed her cheek and a small tinge of blush formed at her face. They giggled at her reaction, while two others were conflicted behind a mask. From the intimate action and the song.

'_… __Insanity… Maybe I am… Insane. If not, then I guess almost,_' he sighed as his train of thought continued, '_… I'll stop. I'll stop pursuing you anymore… I can't continue this insanity any longer…_'

He smiled, fully giving his sight only to her. '_I don't want to hurt you anymore… You were impossible for me to begin with. I'm just too blinded by illusions to see that before…_'

"Kaito," the purple-haired man called out to Kaito, "May I talk Luka for a moment?"

Forcing no questions from him, he nodded as Luka hesitantly went with Gakupo to a distant place. Gakupo sighted her peculiar behavior, but he fully known the reason of that. Because of last night.

"I… I just wanted to apologize…"

Her eyes widened at his request, she wanted to respond to him but he interrupted her, "I'm really, really sorry… I won't give you any excuse. You don't even have to accept my apology… I simply wanted to… to get closure," a weak smile took shape in his lips.

"Also… for that question yesterday. I still haven't given you an answer. Here it is, she's the perfect girl that I have ever met, but I can never have her because she's one of my friend's girlfriend… You are her…"

"But no worries… I'll stop. I don't want to get in the way of you and Kaito… You love him and clearly, he loves you too," he chuckled at the last part, "I hope we could remain friends. You can rely on me whenever you want."

In an instant, she wrapped her arms at his retreating form, gaining a surprise look from him. She whispered between her tears, "… Sorry…" He wiped his tears as he faced her. He gave a faint smile, "Let's go back to the others, Megurine-sama!" Both slightly chuckled at the last part as they departed the vessel. To the others it was a simple after-party, but to him, it could've been the worst yet greatest day of his life.

"Luka and I are headed this way, bye!" Kaito said his farewell, both waved their hands. Luka gave a slight smile in Gakupo's direction, a conclusive proof that they were still friends.

"Good for you," a voice whispered in his ear. "E-Eh!?"

"Don't worry, you'll find someone else…" Gumi presented an assuring smile as he replied, "I hope…" Some sadness still lurked, but she knew it will soon disappear. '_I… I'm really glad…_'

"I'll also go home now, the headache isn't gone yet…" he said, turning his back and leisurely sauntered towards his home. "We'll also go now Miku, bye!"

Her teal eyes gawked at everyone, keeping her emotions is no easy job. Her sight focused on the two, both were casually talking to each other with delighted expressions on their faces. Gumi suspected an emotionless stare thrown viciously at them, she immediately shifted her attention to the cause, only to see no one at the intersection. It caused worries for her, she strained to shrug it off as they advanced to their destinations.

* * *

She arrived at her house, the door was closed after her. Removing her shoes, she yelled out, "Kaa-san! I'm home!" Once her shoes were neatly sorted at the shoe rack at the side of her door, her mother popped out of the kitchen. She wore an apron and a ladle at her grasp. "Welcome home, Gumi."

"How was the after-party? Did you have fun?" she asked her daughter as they both headed towards the dining room. "Sorta, I guess…"

Her mother raised an eyebrow at her response, her ladle stirring the contents of the pot. "W-Well, I was unconscious for most parts so I don't really know," Gumi chuckled. "Are you alright sweety? You shouldn't have gone if you were seasick," she replied.

"I shouldn't have… If I remembered," Gumi distressed. Her mother gave a worried look, but Gumi insisted on dropping the subject. "I'll go to my room now, kaa-san," she said after swallowing the last bite of her lunch. "Lock the door first, I'll be shopping."

A few minutes elapsed. After suspending her bag on her chair, she laid her head on the pillow. It was unusual for the green-haired female to rest at the middle of the day.

"…" Her eyes were shut yet her eyebrows kept twitching. "… Stop thinking about him!" Her scream reverberated throughout the household. Maybe even the neighbors heard it. She sat up, headed for the window, and opened it. With a flushed face, she screamed from the top of her voice.

"I HATE YOU GAKU!" '_… Get out of my head already…_'

* * *

Nightmare. She kept fearing these things that kept visiting her. Ever since last week, the same dream came to her every night. Every dream horrified her. Although this time, it was different. She stood at the middle of the busy sidewalk, she kept shuffling against the crowd walking towards different directions. Unable to determine her destination, she merely maintained her idle sauntering.

Glimmers of moonlight shined upon her face as her body halted. She arrived at an unknown isolated area, wherein street lanterns enveloped the scenery with dim lights. She faced the staircase with two sullied handrails at both sides

'_… __What… What am I doing here?_' the scarlet-haired female thought to herself.

Two figures then walks by. They passed through her, as if she's ethereal. She monitored the two as they elevated to the top of the stairway. Indistinct conversations took place in between them, yet as soon as they set foot at the ground, the unexpected transpired.

Her eyes widened in tremor, darkness enveloped the falling body. Light glistened on its face whilst a deafening crack was heard through her ear. To her sight it was all blurry. She desired to know its identity, though all she could perceive was the colors. Colors of blood and night. Accelerating to draw near, reality pulled her back again.

"Ahhh!"

Miki sat up, perspiring from utter shudders and terrors. She was worried. Her vision could not see the face in her dream, but the figure was tad familiar. Miki rushed to find her phone while her mind had the hopes of the nightmares to stay only in her mind.

'_… __Pick up… Pick up…_' Her call was answered. "Hello?"

"You're alright… Thank goodness…"

"What are you talking about, Miki?"

A feeble smile emerged to her face, "Nothing. Nothing at all," replied Miki. "Are you alright?" she answered.

"It's nothing… I-It's the nightmares again…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"N-No… Thanks anyway, Gumi… Bye."

"Alright. Take care."

"… I'm getting worried…" Gumi said to herself. "Over what?" a figure next to her asked.

"Miki had another nightmare…" she replied.

"Is she alright?"

"I guess… Anyway, want to order now?" Shortly afterwards receiving their dinner, Gumi struck up a question, "So? What's the reason of this meeting, Miku?"

"Can't I miss my friends?" she chuckled, "I haven't had any contact with anyone these days, I guess they're busy with college or jobs and stuff…" She looked down, a glass of liquor reflected her face. "Y-Yeah… I guess," Gumi said, noticing Miku's inexplicable behavior. "Are you going to college or getting a job?"

"I haven't really thought about it…" replied Miku, "Maybe I'll go to college."

She wanted to respond to her decision, although her action was immediately cut off by a sudden tone. Gakupo was calling her. It had been a week since she last saw or talk to the purple-haired man. Seeing his picture pop out and the notification of 'calling', tints of red inched up to her face. An expression that instantly caught Miku's attention.

Miku feigned to haven't notice it, she simply wanted to distinguish her next action or reason of the blushes. Gumi directly shut off her phone. Heaving a sigh, she excused herself to the restroom after placing the said mobile atop the table. She wasn't in her vision anymore. It was a good opportunity. Her hand reached out to her phone, checked the list of calls, and a smile grew on her lips.

'_Eh… This should be fun… It's a good thing I brought this…_'

Miku left the phone back to its place, her hand still grasping her pocket. A small bulge could be seen, it had an outline of a square with a circle on the middle.

"Here are your drinks," a brunette with eyeglasses set down the liquids atop the table, his apron made creases as he bent down. Shortly after he left, a hint of amusement didn't seem to leave upon a certain teal-haired female.

'_Sorry, Gumi…_' She grasped the contents of her pocket and took it out. Resting on her palm was a tablet. Gumi's drink reflected her looming hand as she released it. A few more minutes afterwards, her figure appeared in Miku's sight. Her lips curled slightly, yet it went unnoticed by her friend.

"Thanks for waiting," she said whilst Miku smiled as a response, "No worries… Who was calling anyway? You looked pretty disturbed earlier."

"H-Huh!? U-Uh… E-E-Err… –It was my father! Yeah!" The person in front of her only dropped a sweat from the side of her face. "…" Awkward silence. Miku stared at her, faking her awareness, "Well, whatever…"

"Oh look at the time…" Gumi said, glancing intently at her wristwatch, "I need to go home now…"

"W–" the only syllable that went out of her mouth. Miku was interrupted, seeing that Gumi took hold of the drink. She said nothing afterwards, she merely waited for the liquid to touch her lips. Just when Gumi about to lift up her hand, a loud sound reverberated in the vicinity. Glasses and plates broke as they fell atop their table, resulting to a sudden retreat of Gumi's hand.

"A-Ah! I-I'm terribly sorry!" Miku recognized him, he was the waiter that delivered their drinks. From the corner of her eye, she stared at him intently, mildly annoyed. "N-No worries, its fine. We didn't get hurt…" Gumi replied.

The brunette immediately picked up the shards of utensils, placing them over the tray. It was quite a commotion but the onlookers soon returned to their own businesses as time passed. "Again, I'm terribly sorry…"

She gave a reassuring smile, causing the worker to be tad relieved. He pushed his glasses up as he turned to leave. Gumi felt something familiar with the brunette, something at the end of her tongue.

"I need to go now, Miku–" Miku interrupted her, "W-Wait… There's… There's something I wanted to show you," said the teal-haired female as she stood and instructed Gumi to follow her.

"From what I remember… It was this place…" she said. Before her was the city, bristling with countless glows. "… I can't help but feel uneasy…" Miki rested her arms atop the tainted rails. Her mind never left the memories of her nightmares. Deeply exhaling, she headed towards the stairs. The red-head was about to leave when she spotted two figures elevating towards the park. She didn't knew why, but she hid behind a tree. She kept pondering whilst observing the two figures to move to the spot where she stood moments ago.

Their teal-colored and green-colored hairs flew vigorously from the sudden night breeze. They absentmindedly flicked a few strands behind their ears, as one of them spoke, "What are we doing here?"

"… Just… Just look," the figure pointed its index finger towards the glimmering city lights, "Isn't it… Beautiful…"

"… Yes," the other one unconsciously agreed, its sight concentrated only to its friend.

'_I can't see their faces… It's too dark…_' a certain red-haired female thought as she continued to hide in the shadows.

"… Say Gumi…"

'_Gumi? What… What is she doing here!?_'

"Hm?" Gumi replied, her thoughts brooding about her friend's eerie behavior. Her teal-colored hair covered her eyes as she began to spoke again, "… What do you think will happen to us now?"

"Us? As in everyone?" she asked, getting a soft nod from her, "Why are you asking these questions?"

"… I'm just a bit concerned… That incident about Rin and Len still hadn't…"

"I'm sure they're in a safer place now, Miku," Gumi gave a small smile.

'_Even Miku's here…?_'

"What if… What if something like that happens to everyone again…?" Everyone besides from her stiffed. They slightly shuddered, but shrugged off the thought. Miku continued, "I'm a bit terrified… Things won't be the same anymore. Time is flying way too fast."

Gumi knew little knowledge about Miku's true nature, courtesy of Gakupo telling her a few stuff. But even with his stories, she doubted that was Miku. Before her was her friend, concerned about matters that involved them, '_… Maybe she's trying to change…_'

"… No matter what happens, we're still a family. Sure there will be high walls that always seemed impossible to climb, but our bonds will create a ladder. Also… We made a pact!" she giggled, reminiscing the story. Miku gave a small genuine smile, her eyes glancing at their rings.

"Thank you Gumi… I feel better now. Let's leave?" The green-haired female nodded. Both of them headed towards the stairs, the shades of the night still enveloping almost everything.

_'… __No matter what happens, we're still a family.'_ Her words kept ringing in her head. '_No matter what happens... … Then… I hope we'll remain that way… Sorry._'

Gumi had her body stepping into the stairs, slowly descending. She wore a stoic expression as she outstretched her hand to touch her friend. '_Only a single push…_'

'_N-No… D-Don't… Stop it… It's the same as t-that… What are you doing MIKU!?_' a certain red-head thought in the night. She was about to scream her best friend's name, "G–!", but interrupted by a deafening shout.

"G-Gumi-chan!"

The voice resounded in the isolation. Miku withdrew her hand as another figure walked up to them. Illuminating moonlight shone upon his face, seeing that it was the waiter from earlier. He pushed his glasses upwards and spoke, "G-Gumi-chan, y-you… You forgot your umbrella," he said whilst still catching his breath.

"D-Did you come all the way here just for t-that!?" He gave a nod, a smile that mesmerized them, "It's my apology for earlier."

"Eh!? I-I told you it's alright, Kiyoteru-san!" Gumi retorted whilst placing her umbrella to her bag. "Kiyoteru…? Then, you're the owner of that restaurant?" Miku asked, her tone silently indicated her annoyance.

"A-Ah, no. It's my father's. I'm only working part-time so I can continue my second year in a University…"

"I forgot to introduce the two of you, sorry. Kiyoteru-san, this is my friend, Hatsune Miku," she gave a soft nod, "Miku, this is my neighbor, Hiyama Kiyoteru," he too returned the gesture.

"U-Uhm… Did I disturb anything?"

"No, don't worry," replied Gumi, still oblivious of Miku's actions. "Hey, we're about to leave anyway, would you like to come?"

"I-Is it alright?" he asked them. Miku, irked of the situation, forced herself to agree. Her plans for the night was already ruined anyway. "I forgot, I have something important to do in the morning… Bye, Gumi!"

"O-Oh. See you then!" Both looked at her retreating form, curious at her odd behavior. "It feels like she didn't want me to be here…"

"It's not that… It's just… There's a lot of stuff going on in our minds right now," Gumi relieved him, "Putting that aside, let's go now," their figures departed and both headed for their homes.

'_W-Why… Why would Miku do that…? I… I'm sure she's only calling out to her… T-That's right… It's only that…_' Miki held tight to herself, shrugging every agonizing memory that forced itself to her mind. '_S-She wouldn't do that. W-We're a family… She's not doing something like that…_'

"It's been a while since we walked home like this," muttered Hiyama, "Life is really haaard…" She could only chuckle at his antics. "By the way… How are you and Gakupo-kun?"

Gumi, at that moment, was drinking the water from a bottle that soon burst out of her mouth. "E-Eh!? T-T-There's nothing going on between us!"

He stared at her red-blown face quizzically. "Ehhh… So that's it… Good for you Gumi-chan…"

"W-W-What are y-you talking about!?" she refused, stuttering in embarrassment.

"Hmm… Nothing," he said as a chuckle followed. Afterwards a few more strolls, they arrived at their own homes and the day was over. Gumi flopped against her bed, evidently exhausted. The room barely had any light, the blinds and windows didn't welcome the moonlight and a faint glow from her phone. She stared at it for minutes. Minutes that felt like forever. Half of her face was buried in the pillow, until she sighed and sat up.

'_I guess I'll visit him today…_'

"Eh…?" Gumi was surprised. Earlier, she peeked out the curtain and witness the raining weather. It was common knowledge for everyone to bring an umbrella. What surprised her was, she had two umbrellas in her bag. Both were identical so it made her mind process deeper than before.

_He pushed his glasses upwards and spoke, "G-Gumi-chan, y-you… You forgot your umbrella," he said whilst still catching his breath._

'_He must've thought this was mine… I better give it back…_'

A few minutes later, she was in front of his doorstep. She had been waiting for a few moments for someone to answer the door. It was getting frustrating. '_… What is taking him so long!?_' Soon, she decided to leave.

"Gumi-chan? What's up?"

A voice made her turn back. "A-Ah, Kiyoteru-san, good evening. Sorry for disturbing you but, that umbrella you gave me earlier… It wasn't mine," he merely responded with a shook. "Eh?" she asked in confusion. "It was a gift from me," he said with smile. "Besides… The real owner probably left it there," he chuckled as he closed the door.

"… N-No… HIYAMA!" She began pounding on his door.

He had an earful that night. As soon as they finished their irrational arguments, he closed the door, and leaned on it. His hand pushed up his glasses and thought, '_… Be careful._'

Meanwhile, Miku was lost at the city. Not literally lost, for she knew the place better than anyone. Lost in thought. She failed twice in a day, but it didn't irk to the extent where she almost ripped out someone's beating heart. She still felt emotionless. Then a thought dropped by.

'_Wait… How did he know we were there…?_'

* * *

Another week had passed. Luka arranged a trip for them, to an unspecified place. She thought it would be a good surprise. Her eyes met their figures along with their luggage, as she drew closer to them. "Good morning, everyone!"

Moving past their exchange of greetings, they boarded the train. Curiosity kept bugging everyone of course, they knew nothing about the trip. Where it is, how long, how much, but even though they kept asking, Luka merely shushed them with a singer finger on her lips, "Secret."

Sweat drops. Sure they found it cute and all, but still. After a few rocky stops and time, they got off the train, only to found themselves before a teeming forest. Where are they? All of them sighed in failure of getting information out of their pink-haired friend as she led them to another place that had a station. Groups of travelers moved around the vicinity, waiting for the train to stop.

Kaito cursed the map he was holding, it didn't pinpoint their location. "Kaito… It's not a GPS," teased Luka. Her statement only caused for another tick mark to appear on the ice cream lover's head and for him to be more determined. They laughed at his antics, except for one person. It was no other than Miku. A façade didn't seem to leave her. Her delighted expression was only a mask of her utter exasperation.

A small grin crossed her face. She thought of something that would be a warning for a certain someone. Someone that wouldn't dare to cross her after the stunt. After a few more moments and Kaito's curses, a train emerged to their sights. It gradually approached the station as a few travelers folded their maps and stuffed it somewhere. Each of them grabbed their luggage.

"Finally…" Gakupo grumbled beneath his breath. Reaching out for his belongings, the purple-haired man noticed that next to his was Gumi's. He called out to her, "Gumi!"

No response. Maybe she didn't hear it. He decided to advance towards her, "Gumi! Hey!" His frustration only grew. "G–" A tragedy. Before their horrified eyes, her body could touch the incoming train in just a matter of seconds. Gumi was pushed off by a single hand that carried an unexpected force. "GUMI!"

Her name echoed as her body fell. Cries and shrieks came from their mouths while she couldn't even react.

'_… __I… I'm going to die…? This c-can't happen. I haven't even told him my feelings yet…_'

'_Ironic, isn't it… Just when things started to get better… It just came crashing down again… Life is… Life is really unfair…_'

She felt like her whole life pass before her. Her memories began appearing in a fast motion.

Just as the impending tragedy faced them, his body couldn't move. '_S-Stop… Why did you do this!?_' Gakupo's wishes simply remained at his mind, he couldn't put it into action, not even utter it.

Her body clashed with the rough tracks and bruises dealt an unbearable pain. As she closed her eyes, the next thing everyone thought was a gruesome fatality. Leaves bristled and a cool breeze shifted to their location. It was a dreadful peace. Or so they thought.

Everything happened in a flash, but for them, it seemed that those seconds lasted longer than years. He jumped and grabbed her. With one last breath, he jumped back to the platform. Nick of the time. Before they could even react, he sat her appalled body down on a nearby bench.

Absolute silence. It took moments for them to come back to their senses. Without further ado, they consoled their horrorstruck friend.

"Oh my god… Gumi, are you alright!?" Meiko asked her for everyone. Gumi shook her head, still in dismay of her near-death experience. "I'll… I'll go grab you some water," Luka volunteered and unzipped her luggage. A bottle of water was soon handed to her. Gumi only grasped it, the frail girl was too horrified for her to do anything at the moment.

"L-Leave her to me for now," Miki stuttered. Everyone gave soft and worried nods as Gakupo gave her his coat. "T-T-Tha–… Thank you…"

Her whisper instantaneously reached their ears whilst their sight sought after the recipient. Their colored eyes stopped at the sight of a man. He wore a black shirt, white jeans and slippers. His fedora covered his hair, until he lifted it and showed everyone his face. It was angular and had brown narrow eyes. His brown hair sticking out from almost every direction.

"You're welcome, Gumi-chan," to a certain teal-haired female and a purple-haired male, his voice was too familiar. "H-Hiyama."

"Take care of Gumi alright, Gakupo-kun?" Hiyama gave them a delighted expression, yet inside he was pissed. Gumi is his friend, a friend too valuable to lose. "U-Uhm… Thank you very much! I-If it weren't for you… Things would've been q-quite dreadful…"

"Don't mind it, it's what friends do… I'll be leaving now so please take care of Gumi-chan," he waved his hand as a farewell and his figure gradually disappeared from their visions. "Let's go for now, Gumi can rest at ease there…"

About an hour had passed since they arrived at Luka's villa. It was located in the forest, and a fifteen-minute walk from there, a lake and a cabin were located. Throughout the tour, Miku never left Gakupo's cynical glare. She expected him to confront her for earlier, but it seems like she's wrong.

'_Was he that frightened?_' thought Miku as she ogled the enthralling lake masked by the color of the sunset. Specks of dust floated around the light that impaled the window in a calm demeanor, until an abrupt slam at her room shook them. Gakupo stood before her room and as he walked towards her, he lividly scowled.

"Why the hell would you do that!?" He barged right to her door, accusations and barks as a greeting.

"Oh hello to you too. What do you mean?" she asked. Miku played with him. She was amused, entertained, while Gakupo had his sorrows hidden in a surreal behavior.

"Why… Why are you doing this…? I– We didn't do anything to you!" He was on the verge of tearing up and the purple-haired man struggled not to. Her lone response was her emotionless stare. Her rosy lips didn't even move the slightest.

Heaving a sigh, "… Sorry," she muttered. For a moment, Gakupo felt relieved, but a single apology won't suffice her transgressions. "Don't. Don't try to fool me."

"I'm not. I didn't wish to hurt Gumi. It's up to you whether you believe it or not."

"Then why…? She almost died! What is wrong with you!? You're seriously insane, Miku. Stop toying with our lives!"

Taking a step back for the reason of another adamant and emotionless gawk, he slowly turned his back. As the shadows gradually absorbed his figure, he muttered, "Please. Stop…"

'_… __I guess it's a good thing I did 'that'. Just in case…_' he thought, pertaining to his actions two days ago. Returning to Miku, she sat there motionless, her back leaned against the soft chair. Rendering a sigh, her guilt-filled eyes shifted again to the scenery.

* * *

Flashback

_"__M-Miku… Can I ask you something?" he asked, catching the girl's attention. "What is it, Len?"_

_Though the male blonde had a fretful expression, he continued his agitated and slightly peevish question, "Are… Are you just using me?"_

_Miku was caught dumbfounded. Sure she had qualms of his knowledge yet she didn't bother with it, knowing Len, he wouldn't do anything inexplicable to raze their 'relationship'._

_"__What makes you say that?"_

_"__Be– just… Answer the question," he finished with no room for irony._

_"__Len I–" As she opened her mouth, her mind delved deeper for the right action. "… I-… I'm sorry."_

_She foresaw infuriation, but none came. He modestly sat there and with his hair covering half of his face, she couldn't tell his reaction. Whether he's miserable or enraged. "L-Len?"_

_"__I-I'm alright. Thank you, Miku," she swore she heard him sniff. An honest smile flashed her sight, although unaltered, the hints of lingering sorrow never dissipated._

_"__Why are you thanking me?"_

_"… __It's better if you find out yourself in the future. That way… You can also… #a## ##u##e##."_

* * *

'_What… What did he say before?… I can't believe I forgot…_' her reminiscing didn't satiate a bit of her boredom, though it definitely sobered a fragment of her drowsy conscience.

His feet strained his body to the living room, wherein Gumi and the others rested for a while. With the area emblazoned with furniture of unimaginable prices, he trudged over to an open seat. No one dared to talk, to voice out their worries or thoughts. It was a distressing silence. Gakupo scanned the room, Meiko and Miki wordlessly comforted Gumi, Kaito and Luka sat close together, staring intently with their anxiety-filled eyes.

Their sights shifted immediately to the newcomer, her foot pattered the floor with a reverberating sound. Miku approached them and sat atop another seat. Two sets of eyes peered at her. An additional silence. The air was heavy, shifts of eyes were the only actions, as if they're the one having a conversation.

For a whole hour, things remained the same way, except for the flowing beam across the window from the setting sun.

"It's beautiful…"

Everyone turned their attentions to the source of the voice, seeing that it came from the least expected person. Their lips tugged into smiles and rejoiced dialogues took place afterwards. Time flew as everyone headed to each of their prepared rooms.

The crescent moon serenated them, it irradiated his face as he sulked in his thoughts.

"… Damn it…"

_"__Take care of Gumi alright, Gakupo-kun?"_

He thought about the ringing words Hiyama left him, and it ceaselessly perturbed him. It's not like he hated him for saying that, in fact, he hated himself. His opinions of himself terrorized him, imagining his friends' judgments if they were to be informed of his carelessness.

The following day, they left the villa in the morning for exploration, and in midday, they returned except for Luka, insisting she'll do something that will positively amaze them. Joyful chatters filled the living room after discussing their expectations to Luka's surprise.

Unknown to them, two were troubled. "Who was that yesterday, Gumi?" And a question both released them from their stupors. "Ah, that's Hiyama Kiyoteru, he's my neighbor. His father owns a family restaurant."

"I'm surprised he's here…" Gakupo uttered.

'_… __Did he… D-Did he saw what happened last week!?_'

"What's wrong Miku?" asked Kaito, noticing her face's bothered. Miku broke her trance and stammered, "N-Nothing."

"I-I'm going out for a bit…" Miku left the perplexed looks they gave her as she wandered into nowhere.

An hour elapsed, Miku and Luka still haven't returned yet. The night already greeted them again. Worries sluggishly stacked in their minds as a sudden ring vaguely startle them. As he opened the screen, everyone shifted their sights into Gakupo's cellphone.

His eyes were assaulted with anxiety and his shaking hand resulted into the other's questions, "Is something wrong?" Realizing his shaken expression, he tugged his lips into a forced smile and said, "Don't worry, Luka just said she'll be back in an hour… I'll be at my room if you need me."

They all watched his retreating form, and an indifferent silence once again subjugated them.

He hastened to close the door and treaded to the rim of the window, preparing to jump. '_Good thing I joined Track before…_' His foot primed for a boost, however, before he could go outside, a voice glued him to his position, "Where are you going?"

"… This doesn't concern you, Gumi."

"Something happened. What is it?" Gumi advanced to him, forcing him to spill. Hauling a sigh out of his mouth, he showed the screen containing a text message from Luka.

'_HELP! I'm trapped in the cabin... I can't get out! Help me!_'

"… That's… Unsettling. Why would Luka text you instead of Kaito?" Narrowing her eyes a bit, Gakupo shoved the device to his pocket. "I don't know. But I'm going there, no matter what."

"Then at least let me come with you… What if Miku did something to Luka, like what she did to me?" another question that left him flabbergasted, "Do you really think I didn't know it was her?"

A few moments of deep thoughts, he rejected her request, "I'm going alone. I can't… I can't let you experience something like that. Not again…" Taken aback by his response, she stood there.

"I… love you…" Her confession came with a minimized volume, she knew he couldn't hear it, plus, he already leapt down before she could try again.

'_Be careful…_'

She paced around the room, waiting for Gakupo to comeback. Ten minutes have passed since then, but she couldn't shake the angst off. Peeking out the window, her green-tinted eyes widening at the sight of a female possessing pink hair approaching the villa.

'_Gaku!_' she screamed in concern inwardly. Instantaneously jumping outside, she rushed to the cabin. On her way, Luka caught her, "G-Gumi!? What–" her question was interrupted by a sudden force that freed her grasp of Gumi. As her figure slowly vanished, she screamed back, "S-Sorry Luka! I just forgot something!"

"O-Oh…" Luka stood with a still stunned expression, before resuming her previous action and returned to the villa. Entering, everyone immediately caught her figure. "Huh? Where are Miku and Gaku?"

"Gaku's in his room and Miku went out," replied Miki.

"That's too bad. Let's just wait for Miku and Gumi, then…"

"Gumi…?"

"She just ran outside, saying she forgot something…" Luka's response directly caught Miki's attention, "I'll go help her then… Just stay here, I'll bring her and Miku back," with her statement that lingered in their minds, she ran outside.

* * *

Huffing in exhaustion, she hid behind a tree after seeing Gumi entering the cabin, '_What is she doing there?_' Miki leaned against the trunk and slowly sunk to the ground as she glanced again at the unused shelter. A slight ruffle of leaves caught her attention, but no one was at sight, as if someone invisible kept advancing towards her.

'_I-It must only be my imagination… Yeah, that's it…_'

Looking over from her shoulder, she stared at the entrance as her mind debated for her next action. Before she could lean again, everything became pitch-black. Her consciousness promptly faded as her body fell against the grassy land, resulting to the blood-stained leaves in the vicinity.

The assailant softly muttered an apology. Setting its eyes towards the cabin, its feet proceeded to strode towards the wooden shelter.

* * *

"Wha– What are you doing here Gumi!?" his yell was the first thing she caught as she calmly retorted, "That wasn't Luka… She just returned to the villa a few minutes ago."

"Then was it really…?" he trailed off, not wanting to say her name. She nodded in response, "We should head back before–" they turned their attention into the creaking door and a foreboding feeling strangled them.

"Miku…" both of them spoke beneath their breaths, as Miku shifted her sights to Gumi, "Why are you here?"

"Wait! … Don't hurt her," Gakupo pleaded, "This doesn't concern her…"

"I… I'm sorry," Her statement flummoxed them, as if they're frozen in place. "What did you say?"

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry that you're involved… And now, you can't get out," the teal-haired female lifted her head, casting her obstinate gaze at the two.

"… Don't you remember what Len said to you…?" Gumi spoke an unwavering reply.

"How did you know about that?" Miku asked in bewilderment.

"What are you talking about, Gumi?" Gakupo added as Gumi explained the matters both of them had been speculating.

* * *

Flashback

_"__I-I'll go now, Miku…" Len's muffled voice from the room caught Gumi's ears, as he slid the door open and absconded the room. His tear-stained face lifted up, only to see Gumi standing there right in front of him._

_"__There's still a way out of this, Len!" she forced a resolve to him. Gumi had known almost everything about Miku, thanks to hearing Gakupo's phone calls with Miku._

_His stagnant demeanor before had long fled, he gave her an endearing smile. A proof of his unchangeable resolve. "Thank you Gumi… But… This is the best way I know of. This way, I can also free Rin of her suffering because of an unrequited love."_

_"__Goodbye, Gumi. Please take care of everyone..."_

* * *

"Only she could save him… She who deeply loved him despite what happened to him. Len loosened himself from regrets and Rin freed him… You can also find that someone to save you."

"W-What are you saying? He never said something like that. Stop making stuff up!" Miku strictly bellowed. "I blamed myself for not helping before… That's not going to happen again. We can still save you, Miku!"

"I didn't know Len did that…" Gakupo was left in trance, fully regretting his uselessness at the moment. Miku ravished her confusions, forcing another lie to her head. "N-No. You're lying… Everyone… Everyone keeps lying! Keeping secrets and affairs! I'll make sure you're never going to lie again!"

An abrupt advance of the female surprised the two, particularly the part of the moonlight's beam reflected in a knife she possessed. Her feet jabbered the wooden floor and the weapon directed at Gakupo had struck. Her eyes opened, and cries were let out. A soft groan was earned as the other two were imprisoned in their woeful reverie.

"G-GUMI!" He caught her in his arms as the blood from her side oozed out. '_W-Why…? I don't get it… Why would you all risk your lives for someone else?_' Miku asked in her thoughts, reluctant of the actions she have done. Sniffles came out of Gakupo, Gumi had temporarily lost her consciousness.

He carried her unconscious and injured body as he approached Miku with an exasperating cry he had manifested. "Why!? What happened to you, Miku!?"

Only a step left, before both of them could escape. Yet, a sudden blunt attack seized them. Likewise a certain red-head, his consciousness faded, unaware of what awaits them. He could only hear her crying whisper.

"You're all… liars."

She opened her eyes and revealed a pair of red orbs. "You're awake!" Meiko said, as another trance caught Miki. She trembled in horror, her mind immediately reminiscing a gruesome nightmare.

_Crimson flames flickered on her surroundings and inside, figures were reaching for a way out. She couldn't see them clearly but their voices were all too familiar. Cries of her friends. They were slowly turning to crisp._

"G-Gumi!" she screamed, catching everyone's attention. "She's inside!?"

"We need to save them!" she rushed into the shelter, but was caught in Meiko's grasp, "Don't! It's too late now!"

"N-No… L-Let me go! Gumi… Gumi and Gaku's still inside!" Miki struggled against her grasp. As everyone kept holding her back, Kaito decided to help.

Gakupo woke up from the shaking of his body with a light strength, but it was enough for his consciousness to present itself in the room. He immediately felt the intense heat that surrounds them as he scanned the room, only to see the whole cabin on fire. Different debris kept on falling and the wooden pillars and ceilings are about to collapse either. Not capable of moving his broken legs, courtesy of the large debris atop of it, and thanks to his wounds that kept prickling him, he just stared at the burning cabin.

In addition to his grief, he averted his sight to his left, the source of the shaking, and saw a very important person that risked her life for him. She was laid against the wooden floor next to Gakupo. Even with the injury she received, she tried her very hardest to wake him up.

Her huffs hurt his ears, her forced smile hurts his eyes, her physical condition sickened him, and her personality just annoyed him, although at the same time, it's the personality that possessed a female he considered his best friend. Tears took shape in his blue-tinted eyes and soon it came flowing out.

"G-Gaku…" She winced in pain, "… A-Are you alright, Gaku!?"

"G-Gumi… I-I-I…! I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry for everything… I'm sorry for getting you involved in this mess… I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you, I'm sorry because I'm the reason you're in that condition right now… I'm sorry I couldn't protect you… I'm sorry I couldn't return your feelings!" He struggled to mutter his feelings between cries.

His last apology struck her heart, but after some time, she felt relieved. At least before her last breath, she got to confess to her most loved one.

"It's a-alright… I-I'm glad you heard it. This life isn't as horrible as it is anymore… Maybe this way… I c-could freely leave this world…" She closed her eyes, hoping it would just end already. She desired a peaceful end, but because of Gakupo, she might just not get that.

"W-What are you saying!? We'll make it out of this!"

"Even in my last moment with you, you're still an idiot… But you're the idiot I came to love. We can't get out of here anymore… We're both incapable to move our bodies for even an inch–"

"I'll do everything!"

"Y-You really are an idiot…"

His eyes swelled up with tears and started to sob as he felt his heart aching in every beat. Their hairs ruffed against the floor from their heads' movement and they took every time possible to utter memorable words for their last conversation.

* * *

"What are you doing Kaito!? You might die!" Miku asked. Kaito soaked himself in the nearby lake and every drop of water were absorbed by his clothing.

"But I can't leave them alone! I can still save them…" he retorted.

_"… __It's better if you find out yourself in the future. That way… You can also… Save yourself."_

"Len…" she muttered in silence. '_… I see… You found yours…_'

'_… __Len… Gumi… Do you really think I can find someone who can save me?_'

She imagined their responses, and she smiled at it. As her tears fell down, everyone heard her soft whisper, "Kaito… Please save them…" Giving a nod, he broke down the door and immediately started to look for the duo.

* * *

"I think the only regrets I had up until now are not being able to say goodbye to everyone and not being able to date you," she faintly laughed, "I-I hope in the next life… We'd be friends again…"

"Stop saying things like that… We'll be more than friends, alright!?"

"T-Thank you Gaku… For everything… I…"

She didn't continue. Nothing but the flickering flames that enveloped them made any noise.

"G-Gumi…? Gumi! Wake up! Wake up!"

Her last tear fell to the burning floor. He knew by then that she was gone. Nothing could bring her back anymore. He cried her name, as he dragged her body close to his and enclosing it in his arms, waiting for his life to reach its end. His hand entwined with hers, their fingers tangling with another and their rings tinkling against the fiery noise.

He never stopped crying.

* * *

**Introducing Hiyama Kiyoteru~ He's not playing a big role like the others, but he'll be essential in the next chapters. Oh and Gakupo isn't dead... Next chapter will probably be up in 1-2 weeks... **

**Hope you all like it minna~! R&R ^^**


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